The Final WEAPON: Preliminary Crisis
by Kog6943
Summary: Thrust into an unfamiliar world with no way to get back, Naruto has no choice but to adapt, and quickly. And as if that much wasn't already a big enough problem, the manifestation of this thing called the Lifestream refuses to let him live there...Unless he accepts her offer to become something called a WEAPON and defend her.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Naruto, Final Fantasy 7, or anything else. I'm just a broke college student…**

* * *

Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Normal Thinking: _'Insert witty remark here.'_

Bijū/Deity Talking: **"Insert witty remark here."**

Bijū/Deity Thinking: _**'Insert witty remark here.'**_

Scene Change: **Insert Place Here**

Jutsu/Technique: **Insert Jutsu Here**

* * *

 **Last Updated: 4/9/17 (Minor Improvements)**

* * *

 _"This world…I won't let it end!"_

* * *

" _I don't want any regrets…I don't want the things we did…to be turned into nothing! Things may seem hard…But it's only hopeless if we give up. So I won't quit! I won't stop! As long as there is even a_ shred _of a chance…I will_ never! Back! Down! _"_

* * *

 _"…I know what 'friends' are. And I want to protect them…That's all."_

 _"…Is that your answer?"_

* * *

 _"She must be the lady that the old man was talking about…Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!"_

* * *

 _"We're in a new dimension? The hell? What kind of power is that?!"_

* * *

 _"Now!"_

 _"Shannarō!"_

 _"Hell yeah-ttebayo!"_

* * *

 _"The bijū! They're free! They're all getting summoned back to our dimension!"_

 _"Kurama, hey! You're not going back yet?"_

* * *

 **'I, the ancestor of all chakra…am defeated by these scattered chakras…?'**

* * *

 _ **"Don't 'hey' me, brat! Hurry up and finish the job! Finalize the seal!"**_

 _"Oh, right! Sasuke!"_

 _"Tch!"_

* * *

 **'No…No, I refuse! I refuse to simply be sealed again!'**

* * *

 _"Y…You!"_

 _"You've been hiding in this shadows this entire time, haven't you, Zetsu? But I noticed…"_

 _"No!"_

 _"A brat who can't even leave his mother's side…Won't ever understand a thing about it!"_

 _"Damn you!"_

* * *

 **'I won't be defeated like I'm nothing! I refuse! I refuse!** **Ire** Fus **e _IreF_ U**S **ei** ReF **usEI** r **efUSei** R _efu **s**_ **e** **!'**

* * *

 _"W…What's she doing?! What's that thing in the sky?!"_

 _"She's opening another rift! Get out of the way!"_

 _"What's that stuff coming out of it?! I can't even tell if it's green water or green light-ttebayo!"_

 _"I don't know, but don't let it grab you!"_

* * *

 **'If I am going to lose…Then I will make sure** _ **you**_ **lose too!'**

* * *

 _"Naruto, watch out! Agh!"_

 _"Sakura-chan! Damn it, hang on!"_

 _ **"Naruto, wait! If you go after her, then you'll get grabbed too!"**_

 _"I don't care!"_

 ** _"Naruto!"_**

* * *

 **'You…** _ **You're**_ **the one to blame…'**

* * *

 _"N-Naruto…"_

 _"I've got you! Just hang on!"_

 _"No, save yourse-!"_

 _"_ Screw that! _"_

 _"This thing is going to pull both of us in if you don't!"_

 _"I won't let it!"_

* * *

 **'I can sense it…I can _see_ it…You gave them hope…You gave them a will to fight…You're the one who will lead their future…You're the _heart_ of their future.'**

* * *

 _"Come on…! Let go, you stupid light-water thing! Gah!"_

 _"Naruto! See, it's grabbing you now! We're both getting dragged to the portal! Fly back to the others!"_

 _"No!"_

 _"You can still get away! Just let me go!"_

 _"Not happening!"_

 _"Pleas-!"_

 _"I. Said._ No _!"_ 'Damn! What do I do, now?!'

 ** _"Naruto!"_**

 _"Dobe! Grab on!"_

 _"Kurama! Sasuke!"_

* * *

 **'So if I send** _ **you**_ **away…'**

* * *

 _"Its pull is too strong!"_

 _"Then make_ your _pull stronger than that!"_

 _"I can't even use **Kamui** against it!"_

'This isn't good…! I can't hold on for much longer! And if I go, then Sakura goes too! I can't fight this thing off while holding her!'

 _"More tendrils are coming out!"_

'They're all focusing on me…And they only got Sakura because she pushed me out of the way…So I'm what it's after?'

* * *

 **'Then I will be getting rid the heart!'**

* * *

 _"Naruto?! What are you doing?!"_

 _"Dobe?!"_

 _"Don't let go!"_

'I was right…After I separated from Sakura, they left her alone…' _"Sorry about this, guys…But this thing is after me…So I'll deal with it myself."_

 ** _"Like hell!"_**

 _"Kurama?!"_

 _ **"After all that we just went through, you think I'm going to sit by and watch this happen?! I am Kurama! The Kyūbi no Kitsune! The strongest of the bijū! And as my partner, you're**_ **not** _ **dealing with this alone!**_ ** _"_**

" _But-!"_

 ** _"Shut up! This is happening, whether you want it to or not!"_**

 _"…Thanks, partner."_

* * *

' **Suffer! Suffer in isolation, as you doom me to!'**

* * *

 _"Naruto!"_

 _"No!"_

 _"Tch!"_

 _"Relax! I'll be fine! I have Kurama with me again!"_

 _"Don't stop fighting it!"_

 _"Listen…Thanks, guys…For everything."_

 _"Don't talk like that!"_

 _"I really appreciate everything you've done…For becoming my family…"_

 _"Shut up! Stop speaking like this is goodbye!"_

 _"Sasuke…I leave things to you, okay? You said you wanted to be Hokage, right? Please carry out my dream for the both of us…"_

 _"Damn it, Dobe!"_

 _"Later, guys! Be sure to say bye to the others for me!"_

 _"NARUTO!"_

 _…_

 _"…He's…He's gone…"_

* * *

'It…It burns…!'

 _ **"What the hell is this stuff?!"**_

'E-Everything hurts…I can't breathe…I can't see…'

 _ **"Naruto?! Kit! Hold on! Stay conscious!"**_

'K…Kurama…?'

 _ **"I'm here! Take my chakra to heal! Try to find a way out of this crap!"**_

'I don't know…if I can…All I can see is green…In every direction, it's nothing but a sea of green…And it hurts…'

 _ **"Hey! Stay awake!"**_

'…But-'

 _ **"** **But nothing! Don't close your eyes! Don't you fucking**_ **dare** _ **close your eyes!"**_

'Y…You say that…But it's getting harder…and harder to keep them open…'

 _ **" _N_ aruto?! Kit!"**_

'…Kurama…? It sounds like he's getting further and further away…'

 _ **"Kit! Answ…e…it!"**_

'It's no good…I can't stay awake…anymore…'

 ** _"-!"_**

* * *

Naruto's return to awareness was a slow process. No matter how highly trained the shinobi, torture by means of a swim through a strange green liquid that burned every part of the body that it touched was tiring. Even with his partner's presence inside him actively helping to combat the pain and heal the damage, it was a new level of agony for the blond.

So, no. Naruto was _not_ fully lucid the moment he woke up. Instead, he opted to remain still and give himself a few minutes.

Once his ability to think clearly began to return, Naruto decided to assess the situation. Based on what he was feeling, the sense of pain was gone.

That was good news.

However, Naruto was alarmed to note that while the sense of pain was gone, so was the sense of everything else. As in _all_ of Naruto's senses had disappeared. From touch to smell, there was nothing. He couldn't even _see_ anything!

 _That_ wasn't good news.

Alarm growing, Naruto tried lifting a hand to where his eyes were, but was met with a jarring sense of incompleteness.

 _'Kurama?'_ He tried calling to his partner, hoping that he would have some answers that would put his worries to rest. Maybe the fuzz ball did something so that Naruto wouldn't suffer in that sea of green? _'Hey, you listening?'_ No response. _'Kurama?!'_

 **"Invader."**

 _'Wha-?'_ If Naruto still had the ability to feel or control his body, then he would have jumped in surprise at the new voice. One that was _definitely_ not the voice of a gigantic fox with nine tails. This voice was that of a woman. What was even stranger, Naruto wasn't even sure that he was hearing the voice. It was as if the voice was just…there, in his head. But not in the same way that he mentally spoke to Kurama.

 **"Invader! You dare tread upon my domain?!"**

 _'What? What are you talking about?!'_

 **"You have come here to destroy, haven't you?! Like the** _ **other**_ **one!"**

 _'Huh? No! I don't even know who you are!'_ Seriously, what was this lady talking about?

" **Do not lie to me!"**

 _'I'm not lying! I swear!'_

 **"Then why have you come here?! Why did you open that rift?!"**

Naruto wanted to scowl, but that was still beyond him at the moment. _'I didn't open that rift! I was just there when it opened! And besides, that green stuff dragged_ me _into it! I didn't want to come here-ttebayo!'_

 **"You lie!"**

 _'I already said I'm no-'_ Mentally sighing, Naruto cut himself off. _'If I'm going to argue with you, can we at least do it face to face?'_

 **"Why? So you can attempt to strike me down?"**

Growling, Naruto snapped back. _'No, because not being able to see the person I'm arguing with is annoying!'_ He paused. _'…And I'm starting to really freak out over not having my senses…So please?'_ He asked.

The voice didn't respond immediately, so Naruto thought the woman was going to refuse, but then _something_ began to shift. What was previously an abyss of nothing but darkness shifted into a sea of bluish-green liquid/light in the form of countless threads. The threads were twirling, twisting, dancing… _flowing_ all around him. With a jolt of surprise, Naruto noted that it was the same stuff that came out of the portal. And off in the distance, Naruto could see stars shining brightly.

Daring himself to turn his attention downward, Naruto felt a rush of relief when he saw his body. And strangely enough, the moment that he saw his body, the rest of his senses returned. Naruto was suddenly able to register the sensation of standing, and he was able to feel the gentle caressing of the strange liquid/light as some of the threads brushed up against him, as if curious. Although he was still wary of the liquid/light stuff, Naruto didn't let himself react when some of it brushed his hand.

 _'Who is he?'_

 _'Why is he here?'_

 _'Is he one of us now?'_

 _'He's different.'_

 _'Is he dangerous?'_

 _'Another Calamity?'_

Naruto blinked when he heard the whispers. Quickly looking around, he was unable to spot anyone nearby, despite the countless voices. He was distracted from his search when a particularly adventurous thread came up and grazed his cheek.

 _'He is different…But I don't think he means any harm.'_

It was at that point that Naruto finally realized that the voices _were coming from the threads_. With wide eyes, Naruto watched as the brave thread returned to rejoin the others. _'What is this stuff…?'_

 **"It is the very essence and life of the planet. Of me."**

Startled, Naruto whirled around upon hearing the voice speak from behind him. Standing a dozen feet away was a woman, one whom Naruto couldn't describe in anyway _but_ beautiful.

The woman was tall, and she had flowing blond hair that seemed to glow as it cascaded down to her upper back. Strangely enough, the woman was wearing an extravagant set of armor that was colored various shades of white, gold, and violet. Complementing the armor was an equally extravagant scepter and shield. While her outfit and beauty were very eye-catching, Naruto was unable to tear his eyes away from hers.

The woman's emerald eyes were narrowed in wariness. In hatred. In anger.

In _fear_.

Swallowing nervously, Naruto slowly raised his hands in a nonthreatening manner and offered a hesitant smile. "Um…Hey ther-"

 **"I have done as you asked and provided a plane for which we can speak in manner more comfortable for you."** The woman interrupted. **"Now you will answer my question. Why did you come here?!"**

Subconsciously taking a step back when the woman's voice suddenly seemed far more powerful, Naruto hastily spoke up. "I already told you that I didn't want to come here!"

 **"Then what was the reason for creating the rift?! If not to invade, then for what purpose?!"**

"I didn't open the portal!" Naruto shot back. "I already told you I just happened to be there!"

 **"You are lying to me again!"** The woman said furiously. **"I demand the truth!"**

Feeling his anger and frustration grow, Naruto _did_ scowl this time. "It _is_ the truth! I didn't open the portal, damn it!" He shouted, causing the woman to actually flinch and the threads that had been circling him to scatter. Seeing the woman's reaction and the hint of fear in her eyes grow, Naruto's guilt overtook his frustration and anger. Sighing, Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Look…I promise you that I didn't open that portal. Just like I promise that I didn't want to come here. The only reason I'm even here is because I got caught by these weird lights while trying to get them off my friend. _They_ pulled me in."

The woman was silent for a few moments before she glanced down to the threads surrounding them, noting that many of the threads had already willingly returned to be close to Naruto. **"The Lifestream was sent to capture the most powerful presence on the other side of the rift. For only that presence would have had the power to open a rift to here."** She finally said softly.

Understanding lit Naruto's eyes. With a groan, he slumped. "Okay, that makes sense…" When the woman's glare returned, he quickly continued. "The person who made the portal was there, and she _was_ more powerful than me, but then she was sealed." He explained. "Right before she was fully sealed, she must have opened the portal as a last ditch effort to take at least one of us out." He sighed sadly. "…And it worked."

Hearing this, the woman frowned slightly. **"And that is the truth?"**

Naruto nodded. "I swear it on my nindō. Uh, my ninja way." He elaborated upon her obvious confusion.

The woman stared at Naruto for several long minutes, with Naruto not even daring to breathe as he awaited her response. Although a small bit of panic flared in him when he realized that he _wasn't breathing_ and he apparently _didn't need to_.

 **"Of course you do not need to breathe. You are here in mind and soul, not body."** The woman's voice cut off any rising distress in him. **"All mortal needs are irrelevant while you are here."**

"Oh…" Naruto said dumbly. "Okay…?" _'Did she just read my mind?'_

 **"I did."** The woman confirmed, much to his amazement. **"As I have said, the form you are currently taking is made up of your mind and soul, so it is of no surprise that thoughts are projected here when you don't work to keep them private. It is your own fault."**

"Uh…" Blinking, Naruto digested that bit of information. After repeating it a few times in his head, he thought he understood. "Alright…I'll be more careful to not…think too loudly?" She nodded. It was then that Naruto noticed that her scepter and shield had vanished, as had much of the anger in her eyes, although she was still obviously wary of him. "So…Where am I?"

 **"You are in the Lifestream. And you do not belong here."**

Naruto frowned slightly, still confused. "That doesn't tell me much-ttebayo…"

It was now the woman's turn to frown at him. **"How does it not? The Lifestream is the Lifestream."**

"But what does _that_ mean? What is the Lifestream?"

 **"The Lifestream is the essence of the planet. It is the essence of all the inhabitants of the planet. Their memories, their feelings, their emotions, their knowledge. All of those make up the Lifestream. They make up** _ **me**_ **. While the inhabitants occupy the surface of the planet, the Lifestream is the heart of the planet."**

"Wait…" Naruto tried to grasp what she was saying. "So… _you_ are the Lifestream?" And based on her words, Naruto wasn't on his world anymore. Although, that was something of a given from how he was dragged through the portal to another dimension that Kaguya opened.

She nodded. **"Both yes and no. I am both the Lifestream and the planet. And yet, I am also a representation of their will."**

"Huh…" Naruto's brow furrowed in thought. "But you said that this _place_ is the Lifestream…So how is it you, and yet you're here?"

 **"Because I willed it so."** She said easily, as if that explained it.

Deciding that he wasn't going to fully understand anytime soon, Naruto sighed again. "Fine…" Suddenly, he grinned at her. "So? What's your name? Do I just call you Lifestream? I would rather have a name to use."

The abrupt grin and question prompted a look of surprise to appear on the woman's face. Hesitating, she slowly answered the question. **"I have many names…But if you must call me something, then you may call me Minerva."**

Naruto happily nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Minerva. I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" He greeted.

 **"Naruto Uzumaki…"** She repeated quietly, as if testing the name. Tilting her head, she spoke. **"And you say that you are _no_** _ **t**_ **the one who created that rift? You didn't come here to invade?"**

Why did she keep asking him that? "No, I didn't." Naruto said again. "In fact, I will happily leave now and return to my dimension. Can you send me back?" He asked eagerly. If she was as powerful and divine as she was implying, then she should be able to do it!

 **"Impossible."**

That single word froze Naruto and chilled his blood. "Wh…What?" He asked weakly.

 **"I said it is impossible."** Minerva said bluntly. **"I have many powers and abilities, to the point that I can do nearly anything I wish in this domain…But creating a rift in time and space is not something I can do."**

A sick feeling grew in Naruto's stomach, but he wasn't sure if that was even possible here. "So…So I can't go back?" She nodded, making the sick feeling in him grow. For several moments, Naruto dwelled on that, feeling the despair crush him. Eventually, he took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. "…That's fine." He already figured that this might happen when he gave himself up for Sakura. It was stupid of him to let himself become hopeful. "I guess I'm staying here…" That knowledge hurt him, but he didn't have much of a choice. He would try to make the best of it and live on the surface.

 **"No."**

Naruto jolted at the unexpected and harsh rebuttal. "Wha-?"

 **"I said no."** Minerva glared at him. **"I will not allow you to stay here. You do not belong here. You are to leave this planet at once. Beings from elsewhere bring nothing but calamity and ruin. And while you may not currently have any intent to do harm, I will not risk it. Leave at once."**

The whiskered blond gaped at her. "B-But why? And How?! I can't open a portal like Kaguya can, and while I can fly with Six Paths Senjutsu, where would I go?!"

 **"You are unable to leave?"** The woman asked, getting a hasty nod. **"I see…Then there is no choice."** She willed her scepter back into existence, putting Naruto on edge.

"Wait…What do you mean by that? What're you going to do?" He asked cautiously.

 **"If you are unable to leave, then that means that you must be removed from the planet in another manner."** She explained. Pointing the scepter at Naruto, she continued as it began to glow. **"You must be erased."**

Naruto took a step back. "…You're going to kill me?"

Minerva nodded. **"I apologize, but I will not take such a risk by allowing you to exist here. This is the only remaining solution. Goodbye, Naruto Uzumaki."**

The blond gritted his teeth. "Don't screw with me-ttebayo! What kind of solution is that?!"

 **"The only one available."**

"Why are you saying that?!" Naruto demanded. "What are you so afraid of?!" Something flashed in Minerva's eyes, and Naruto's mind went back to everything he has heard in his short time here. "Who is the 'other one'? And what is the 'Calamity'?" Minerva actually _flinched_ at the questions. "I guess it's someone else who came here from another world? And they hurt…the planet? Hurt you? You're scared that I will do the same."

 **"** … **I am."** She finally admitted. **"So you understand why you must be removed."**

Glaring, Naruto shook his head. "Sorry, but I don't understand. I don't know who or what this _thing_ was or is, but I don't mean you any harm." He looked away as his eyes grew distant. "…I just got through with fighting to save my own world. I wouldn't doom another." He whispered, face turning sad.

Minerva observed him in silence for a minute as the glow in her scepter faded away. **"Prove it."** She suddenly ordered.

"Huh?" Naruto returned his attention to her with a blink. "Prove what?"

 **"Prove that you wouldn't ever mean any harm. That you fought such a battle."** She elaborated.

"Um…" Naruto scratched the back of his head in confusion. "How would I do that?"

The glow returned to the scepter, putting Naruto on edge, but Minerva's next words eased any thoughts that she was going to attack. **"Open your mind to me."** She instructed. **"Allow me to read your memories and judge your person. I will watch your life in order to do so."**

Naruto frowned at her. "And why should I do that?" While he didn't want to be killed simply for getting sucked into this world, he _also_ didn't like the idea of letting someone he didn't know or trust into his head to watch his entire life.

Minerva quirked an eyebrow at him. **"Would you rather be erased?"** She asked.

Frown deepening, Naruto glared off to the side at nothing in particular. _'So it's either die or show her my life to prove I'm honest…'_ That irritated him, admittedly. He didn't even let his friends know that he was a jinchuriki until he was a teenager. And now he had to show everything to this lady he hasn't even known for an hour?

But when the only other option was to be 'erased', what choice did he have?

Shoving his frustration and sense of helplessness to the side, Naruto sighed and looked back to Minerva. "Fine…How do we do this?"

Walking up to Naruto until they were only a couple of feet apart, Minerva pointed her scepter at his forehead. **"Simpy relax and allow me to do the work. This will be over in a minute."** Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Naruto nodded. Seeing this, Minerva established the link.

Despite his eyes being closed, Naruto's vision went white.

* * *

 _Minato and Kushina protecting him from the_ _Kyūbi_ _. Kushina's emotional farewell to him while Minato watched sadly._

 _The third Hokage giving him the key to his apartment where he would live alone, despite hardly being six._

 _Deciding that he wanted to become Hokage._

 _His one-sided rivalry with Sasuke. Establishing friendships for the first time in the Academy._

 _Smiling in the face of the glares from every side. Retaliating with pranks. Forming a bond with Iruka._

 _Learning of the Kyūbi._

 _The formation of team 7. Completing random missions until the mission to Wave. Watching a friend and rival seemingly sacrifice himself to save him._

 _Watching as another person who could have been a friend was buried after sacrificing himself to save his precious person._

 _The declaration of his nindō._

 _The chūnin exams. Meeting Gaara. Becoming both nervous and excited at the idea of the exams._

 _Getting confronted by Orochimaru. Sasuke getting the cursed seal. Feeling powerless._

 _Meeting Jiraiya. Learning how to summon toads and use the Kyūbi's chakra._

 _The invasion. Fighting Gaara to defend the people he cares about. Returning only to learn of the death of the person he viewed as a grandfather._

 _Leaving Konoha with Jiraiya to find some woman. Learning the_ _ **Rasengan** __along the way. Getting attacked by the Akatsuki for the first time. Watching as a someone he sees as a rival is mentally tortured into a coma. Learning that they are after him._

 _Meeting Tsunade. Completing the_ _ **Rasengan**_ _for the first time to beat Kabuto. Winning the necklace._

 _Growing tensions with Sasuke. Amounts to a fight on the roof of a hospital, only for Kakashi to stop them._

 _Getting woken up early in the morning by Shikamaru to be told that Sasuke defected._

 _The retrieval mission. Hating that he has to leave his friends behind to fight alone, one after another._

 _Catching up to Sasuke at the Valley of the End. Losing the fight and waking up on Kakashi's back._

 _Leaving Konoha for an extended training trip with Jiraiya._

 _Returning to Konoha, only to soon be sent out again after word arrives that Gaara was kidnapped._

 _Failing to arrive in time to save Gaara. The rage boiling over until he lashes out at the Akatsuki member that took Gaara's body._

 _The revival of Gaara at the cost of another. Departing from Suna with a smile after getting thanked by his friend._

 _Meeting Sai and Yamato. Experiencing a rocky start for the new team._

 _Confronting Orochimaru. Losing himself to his rage. Hurting Sakura._

 _Growing to fear himself and what he might accidentally do._

 _Meeting Sasuke, only to lose him again._

 _Learning of his chakra nature. Starting to create a new technique. Finishing the creation of the technique just in time to use it against the people who killed the sensei of his friends. The technique is labeled as forbidden, due to the damage done to the user._

 _Searching for Sasuke again, only to barely miss him._

 _Being told that the man he viewed as family was killed in action._

 _Sage training. Learning about the origin of his name. Returning to Konoha, only to find it in ruins._

 _Despair at the loss of so many people._

 _The battle against a sibling-student of Jiraiya. A clash of beliefs. Nearly losing control of the Kyūbi after a friend sacrifices herself for him._

 _Meeting his father. The overwhelming anger upon learning that the man he saw as a hero -the man who he also held some resentment towards for sealing the Kyūbi in him- was his father._

 _The feeling of joy that overshadows the anger._

 _Learning that the Kyūbi attack on the night of his birth wasn't an accident._

 _The growing happiness and love when his father says he believes in him._

 _Winning over Nagato. Watching sadly as he killed himself to right his latest wrongs. Listening as Nagato said he believed in Naruto._

 _Being accepted by the entire village for the first time._

 _Hearing that Sasuke attacked another jinchuriki. Begging the Raikage to forgive Sasuke, only for it to fall on deaf ears._

 _The truth of the Uchiha clan._

 _Saving Sakura from Sasuke. The short reunion of team 7._

 _The mission across the sea. Meeting Killer B. Conquering his inner darkness._

 _Fighting the Kyūbi for control of his power._

 _Meeting his mother. Feeling her love and him expressing to her that he is happy to be her son._

 _Conquering the Kyūbi._

 _Learning of the war. Breaking out with Killer B to join it._

 _Confronting Tsunade and the Raikage. Getting their blessing to join the war._

 _Numerous battles against reanimated shinobi. Both former enemies and allies alike._

 _Meeting Itachi and Nagato again._

 _Clashing with Tobi. The arrival of Kakashi and Gai. Learning the truth of Tobi._

 _Fully joining forces with Kurama. Meeting the other bijū and jinchuriki._

 _The revival of an incomplete Jūbi._

 _Failing to prevent the death of yet another friend._

 _The arrival of Sasuke and the previous Hokage. Obito becoming the jinchuriki of the Jūbi._

 _Formation of a giant tree. Escalation of the battle, only for it to end with Madara getting revived again._

 _Losing Kurama and nearly dying._

 _Meeting the Sage of Six Paths. Receiving some of his power. Failing to stop the Infinite Tsukuyomi._

 _Madara turning into Kaguya. An even harder battle._

 _Successfully sealing away Kaguya, but not before she opens a rift._

 _Saving Sakura at the cost of saving himself. Kurama reentering his body. Giving final farewells to his team. Getting pulled into the rift._

 _A sea of green and unimaginable pain._

* * *

With a gasp and a jerk, the visions and flashes of memories all stopped, resulting in him using his knees to support himself as he waited for his head to stop spinning. "…That…That sucked." He finally said. Not hearing anything, Naruto frowned slightly. Standing back up, he turned his attention to Minerva and opened his mouth to speak, but was thrown off guard by what he saw.

Or more specifically, the _sad_ expression on her face.

 **"You…"** Minerva began slowly. **"I believe you…You did not mean to come here. And you mean no harm."**

Naruto gave her a relieved smile. "Really? That's good." His smile grew. "So you won't kill me? You'll let me live on this planet?" He blinked when her expression saddened even further. "…What's wrong?" She said she believed him, so why would he still not be allowed to?

 **"** … **You seem to misunderstand…"** Minerva said quietly. **"While I was initially wary of you because of what the last outsider did, it is not the only reason that I cannot allow you to stay."**

Worry mingled with fear in Naruto's mind. "…What else is there?"

Minerva sighed. **"The Lifestream makes up all inhabitants of this planet. It courses through them all, from the animals to the plants. Once a being dies, they return here, to the Lifestream. To me."** She shook her head. **"But you…You aren't from this planet. Or even this dimension."**

Naruto swallowed. "So I don't have the Lifestream in me…And that means I can't stay?"

 **"While it doesn't necessarily mean that…It may prove problems later on. Such interference must not be allowed to happen."**

"But…Then what was the point of showing you my memories?" Naruto wasn't able to keep the bitterness out of his tone. "If I couldn't stay no matter what, then I would rather have kept them private. There's no way for me to be allowed to stay?"

She thought about it for a moment. **"Even if I did allow you to stay on this planet…Even if I** _ **did**_ **send you to the surface…There is another problem."**

"And what's that?" Naruto asked dejectedly.

Minerva hesitated. **"Upon your entry into this dimension, your body fell into the physical form of the Lifestream that is on the surface of the planet. The inhabitants call it Mako."**

"…That's what that green water was?" Naruto shivered upon remembering the pain. "The stuff that burned me?"

 **"…Correct…"**

"Okay…And I guess that's a bad thing?" Naruto guessed. "What did it do to me…?"

 **"It…"** She paused, as if trying to find the words. Eventually, she simply sighed. **"It destroyed your body."** She admitted, to the blond's horror.

"…What…?" He asked weakly.

 **"Mako in such high concentration is fatal to humans here, and apparently to humans from your dimension as well. Your body held up remarkably well, which must be partly in thanks to your friend, but…"** She shook her head. **"Your body will soon give out."**

"B-But…" Naruto quickly gestured to himself. "Look at me! I'm fine!"

 **"And you appear to be so due to the fact that this is not a physical plane."** Minerva reminded. **"The form you take is nothing but a projection your mind created for yourself when I allowed it."**

"That's…" Naruto _really_ felt sick now. "Then why were you telling me to leave if I was already about to die? Why were you going to kill me?"

At this, Minerva offered him a look that was almost guilty. **"I let fear rule me. I was too focused on the possibility of you being a threat to think clearly. All I wanted was for you to either be erased or leave the planet, never mind that you were about to die."**

Suddenly, another thought made Naruto's blood freeze. "Wait! What about Kurama! What happened to him?!"

 **"He is still in your body, futilely attempting to heal the damage done and revive you, even as more damage is taken."** She said quietly.

Naruto took several deep breaths to calm himself, even if he didn't need to breathe here. "So…What am I? Am I dead?"

Minerva considered the question. **"As it stands, you are currently on the brink of death. Your body is about to shut down completely, and then you will die."**

The blond stared at her for several moments. "So that's it then. I beat the bad guy, saved my world, only to get sucked into another and fall into some toxic water and die." He closed his eyes. "Happy birthday to me, huh?"

Upon these words, Minerva blinked. Blinking again, she frowned minutely, unnoticed by Naruto. **"Happy birthday…?"** She repeated.

Naruto, thinking that she somehow didn't understand the concept, nodded. "Yeah, you know, the anniversary of my birth?" He said, voice lacking emotion.

 **"That could…That could work…A rebirth."** Minerva whispered, confusing Naruto.

"Hm…?"

Gaining a determined look, Minerva spoke up. **"Naruto Uzumaki."** She intoned, startling Naruto by the sudden authoritative tone she took. Snapping his eyes back open, he saw the serious expression she had.

"Y-Yeah?"

 **"You said that you wished to inhabit this planet. To live here, correct?"**

Growing more confused, Naruto slowly nodded. "That's right…But that's impossible, right? You said it couldn't happen because I don't have the Lifestream running through me. And there's the thing about my body getting ruined…"

 **"If I gave you an opportunity to change that, would you take it? If I offered the chance to provide you with a new body, one that** _ **would**_ **have the Lifestream running through it, would you accept?"** She asked him.

"Wait…" Not really wanting to dare to hope, Naruto's mind began connecting the dots. "But you said…" He shook his head in disbelief. "You have the power to give me a new body? And I could use it?"

Minerva nodded curtly. **"I do have the power to do so, yes."**

"Then why didn't you say so?" Naruto demanded incredulously.

 **"For the reason that the idea didn't occur to me. And that you are still an outsider as it stands. Incorporating you into the Lifestream wasn't something I was contemplating."** Minerva explained.

Naruto shot her a wary look. "Why are you so serious about this? What aren't you saying?"

 **"Long ago, when the last invader came to this planet and threatened the Lifestream, threatened** _ **me**_ **…I created several creatures that would act as my defenders against the Calamity. I created the WEAPONs."** She told him. **"But before I could use them against the Calamity, it was sealed by the inhabitants of the surface at the time. With the danger temporarily passed, I put the WEAPONs into a stasis, waiting for the day that they would be needed."**

Although he had his moments, Naruto wasn't _completely_ stupid. "…You want to make me one of these things, don't you?"

 **"I do."** Minerva confirmed. **"Under normal circumstances, I would never consider such a thing…"** Much to Naruto's surprise, she gave him a small smile. **"But after viewing your life and judging your character, I believe that you would make a wonderful defender."** Seeing his reluctance, she continued. **"Remember that the only alternative is death. And if you are worried about what you will turn into, rest assured that I will do my best to construct your new body to match your previous one. The only changes that you will undergo are ones that would be needed to successfully become a WEAPON of this planet. Of the Lifestream."**

Frowning slightly, Naruto turned his head away and absently watched the calm flow of the threads around them. "…Would I even be human?"

Minerva didn't answer right away. **"…You have been open and honest with me, to the point of showing me your life…So I will be open and honest with you…No. You would look like one, and would be very similar in anatomy…But you would not be human."**

Naruto took a deep breath. "I wouldn't be human…" He said to himself under his breath. After everything he did while growing to prove that he _was_ human…To prove that he _was_ the same as everyone else…That he _wasn't_ a monster…

Was he really willing to throw it all away? To really become the thing that he used to fear that the villagers were right about?

 **"I understand that it is a hard choice, especially given what I saw of your life…"** Minerva said with a surprising amount of sympathy in her tone. **"But there isn't much time left for you to decide. Your body is about to fail completely. And once that happens, it will be too late. I'm going to need to preserve your mind and soul now if I'm going to transfer it into a new body."**

Clenching his fist, Naruto still debated if he wanted to take her up on the offer. "What would I be doing?" He said, trying to put off the final answer while also getting more information. "Are you going to put me into a stasis like the other WEAPONs?"

 **"No."** Minerva immediately denied, much to his relief. **"You are not the same as them. You are a person with thoughts and feelings. I will give you a human form and allow you to live as you please on the surface. All I ask is that you answer the call to help me if needed. You would be a WEAPON, a being meant to protect the planet from serious threats. A defender…My knight. If something were to put the planet -whether it be the physical form or the Lifestream- in danger, then you would need to stop it."**

"What about my jutsu?" Naruto asked. "My chakra?"

Minerva considered the question. **"Your…chakra is unusual on this planet. While the inhabitants here have the Lifestream flowing through them, you have chakra. I will…do my best to reconstruct your chakra pathways in order to allow you to use them still…But it may be difficult, if not impossible."** She told him.

"Okay…" He finally turned back to her, a determined glint in his eyes. "Last question. Actually, it's more of a condition."

Although she frowned minutely, Minerva slowly nodded. **"And that is…?"**

"Kurama comes with me." Naruto said. "You saw my memories, so you know what we've been through. He's my partner. In a way, he has been with me for so long that I can consider him family." Even if he _was_ an ass. "And he's only stuck in this dimension with me because he refused to let me go through that portal alone. If I'm doing this, then he is going to be with me the entire time." He stared her in the eye, daring her to say no.

After a minute, the smile returned to Minerva's face. **"Very well."** She agreed, getting Naruto to grin. **"I will preserve him in a similar way that I will preserve your mind and soul while your new body is constructed. When your body is finished and I send you to the surface, he will be with you. But while he will essentially be sleeping, you will be awake as I educate you on your duties and other essential information."**

"Hehehe…" Grinning even wider, Naruto saluted her. "You got it!"

Unable to stop herself, Minerva returned the grin, although with a softer one. **"So then may I assume that you accept? Will you become a WEAPON? Become my defender and knight?"**

"You know it!" Naruto shot her a thumbs up. "If you're going to go through the trouble of making me a new body, then the least I could do is help you out! Just leave it to me-ttebayo!"

Much to Naruto's shock, Minerva actually _giggled_. The threads around them seemed to dance in joy in response to her mood. **"You're enthusiastic now. I like it."** She nodded. **"Well then, if we are in agreement, then I will proceed to put Kurama into stasis and temporarily tie your mind to the Lifestream."** She raised her scepter up, and Naruto watched it glow for a moment before flashing. **"And now to start constructing your body…I will need a little time for that."**

Practically bouncing now, Naruto rested his arms behind his head. "So what happens now?"

 **"Now, I will begin explaining to you what will be expected of you and some of this planet's history."** She answered.

"Oh, right…Learning…" Naruto deflated at that, eliciting another giggle from Minerva.

 **"Welcome to Gaia, Naruto Uzumaki. From here on out, you are Final WEAPON."**

* * *

 **And we're here! Welcome to The Final WEAPON: Preliminary Crisis, Chapter 1!**

 **This is a plot bunny that has been stuck in my head for about a week now. What do you think? Does it have merit? Or should I scrap it? And take a guess as to what _that_ title means I'm starting with...**

 **If things go as planned, then this _series of stories_ will expand throughout the entire story line of Final Fantasy VII...And yes, I mean the _entire_ story line. Maybe (As in, probably/most likely) not an in depth experience of everything, and _definitely_ not every event, but I do plan to tie them all in in some way. Only time will tell if I'm being too ambitious (I am 4/5 sure that I am).**

 **Aren't Sephiroth and Zetsu creepily similar in some ways?**

 **One of the things I hate most (Or at least strongly dislike when done incorrectly) in some stories is when the MC spills his entire life story to someone else at the drop of a hat. It especially irritates me when the life story is a painful one, the person being told is someone the MC just met, it is at the very start of a story,** _ **or**_ **some combination of those (And here I am, doing all three…Damn it all). Unfortunately, I couldn't exactly avoid that here, both for the reason that my take on Minerva is someone who is rightfully highly suspicious of someone from another world until proven that they are trustworthy,** _ **and**_ **because it would give Minerva a reason to like Naruto and want him as a WEAPON.**

 **Please don't ask me about my other stories. The only other one I'm working on right now is Twilight Key.**

 **Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kog6943**


	2. Chapter 2

**And we're back! Welcome to The Final WEAPON: Preliminary Crisis, Chapter 2!**

 **A lot of people seem enthusiastic about this story. That's awesome! Thanks, guys!**

 **I noticed a couple of comments that said that some of you weren't familiar with the history of Final Fantasy VII. No worries, I always make my stories so that even people who don't know the series understand what is going on.**

 **The focus of this story is going to be the Crisis Core and Before Crisis games, as some of you probably noticed. That's why the title is what it is. I would have named this story** _ **The Final WEAPON: Crisis' Dawn**_ **, but I couldn't decide on the damn ambiguous apostrophe rule.**

 **Don't like the way I do something? Stick around until the bottom AN to see if I explain myself. Otherwise, leave a review. There is a 95% chance I** _ **won't**_ **check my PM inbox, so don't do that. (I'm putting this warning here because there is something in this chapter that I know will irritate some people)**

* * *

 **Anyways, on with the story!**

 **I don't own Naruto, Final Fantasy VII, or anything else. I'm just a broke college student…**

* * *

Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Normal Thinking: _'Insert witty remark here.'_

Bijū/Deity Talking in Naruto's Head: _**"Insert witty remark here."**_

Bijū/Deity Thinking in Naruto's Head: **'Insert witty remark here.'**

Scene Change: **Insert Place Here**

Jutsu/Technique: **Insert Jutsu Here**

* * *

 **The Lifestream**

Naruto smiled slightly as he stared out into the endless expanse of stars and threads. He didn't know what it was about this place, but just being here was oddly…calming. _'Was this what Shikamaru enjoyed so much about watching the clouds?'_ Although he considered that, he doubted it. The gentle flowing of the Lifestream around him was more than simply calming. If Naruto had to put it into words, it was as if he was being embraced by someone he trusted. Someone who made him feel…safe.

A part deeply buried in the back of his mind compared it to the embrace of a mother.

He wasn't sure how much time had gone by since he first met Minerva. There wasn't exactly a day and night cycle in the Lifestream, let alone a clock, so Naruto could only judge based on instinct. But he had to admit that it wasn't working after some time, as it wouldn't hold up after long periods if he wasn't paying attention. If it wasn't for the soothing effect the Lifestream seemed to have on him, Naruto wasn't sure that he would have been able to take an endless expanse of nothing for such an extended period of time.

Despite not even knowing how long he had been there, Naruto felt content with the situation. He spoke with Minerva every day -or at least, he thought it was every day- for hours at a time, and he knew that she was working on his body. According to the last update she gave him on his new body, it was nearing completion and only needed some final adjustments.

And it wasn't as if all they did together was teach Naruto about the world. They held many conversations about random topics, too. One thing Naruto learned about Minerva was that she was a very curious person. She would ask Naruto about many parts of his life. She had seen the highlights, but not the entire thing.

Surprisingly enough, the lessons that Minerva said she was going to give him weren't as boring as he had been expecting them to be. Don't get him wrong, it was still learning history, so he wasn't its biggest fan…But it was still somewhat interesting to hear about some of his new home's history. And Minerva always went into _extensive_ detail.

His favorite part had been learning about the Ancients, or the Cetra. Their abilities reminded him a lot of what he was able to accomplish in Sage Mode, albeit in a different manner. He actually enjoyed hearing about what they used to do for the planet and how they were considered the planet's caretakers. Although he was sad to hear that most of them were wiped out a long time ago…Which brought him to the thing that was tied for Naruto's least favorite part of this world's history.

The Calamity from the Skies.

Naruto frowned at the thought of the being. When Minerva told him that the thing she feared he would turn out to be was another alien that was bent on the destruction of all life, he almost didn't believe her. Hell, he _still_ didn't want to believe her. It wasn't until she showed him a mental image of the damage done by the Calamity's arrival on the planet and the memories of some of the ancient Cetra who lived through the event that he finally believed her.

The subject of the Calamity appeared to reignite some of the distress that Minerva displayed when she met Naruto, along with a more than a little anger. Naruto fully understood why she was so mad, and was even sympathetic towards her. A strange being shows up out of nowhere and strives to essentially end the world? And nearly succeeds?

That held too many similarities to Kaguya for Naruto to be comfortable.

When he asked what happened to the Calamity, Minerva stated that it was sealed away by the Cetra, and it remained that way for a long time. Unfortunately, the seal was undone by some humans, who then proceeded to excavate the Calamity and transport it…somewhere. It was a frustrated Minerva that told him that she was unable to track the incredibly weak Calamity because of just how _much_ power it had lost over time. The fact that the Calamity was apparently dormant didn't help the matter. The humans had brought the Calamity to some facility, and then transferred it somewhere else. Meanwhile, those humans were part of an organization that was quickly becoming a world power. And that organization was the _other_ thing that was his least favorite part of history…

The Shinra Electric Power Company.

According to Minerva, this one company was doing more damage to the planet in a matter of decades than the entire rest of the population managed to do since the very beginning of the planet. They were _literally_ sucking the life out of the planet! And for what? For 'efficient electricity'? While the goal of finding a better energy source was understandable, killing the entire planet angered Naruto. To make things worse, Shinra was using that monopoly to become the most powerful company in the world. In fact, as it currently stood, Shinra very nearly _did_ rule the world.

Not to mention that… _city_ that they built. Midgar, Minerva called it with a noticeable look of distaste. If there was ever a place that was the polar opposite of Konoha, it was Midgar. High in population, pollution, and even higher in corruption, Midgar was arguably the biggest abomination that Shinra ever created.

Naruto couldn't believe that the city was actually made up of two different layers. The 'upper plate' acted as the location of Shinra headquarters and a vast city, but it all stood upon a plate that was _suspended in the air_. Who the hell designed something like that? How was that a good idea? You take out the support, and bam! The entire plate comes crumbling down. If it wasn't for the unreasonable loss of life and destruction that such a task would entail, not to mention becoming an enemy to the group that pretty much ran the world, then Naruto would have actually considered doing it. Well, for those reasons and the reason that disgusted Naruto the most about Midgar.

Below the upper plate was what the inhabitants of the city called 'the slums'. While the upper plate was a city filled with people of the middle and high class societies, the slums were nothing but impoverished and unfortunate people. Crime, grime, and plenty of despair, Naruto _hated_ the idea of the slums. How could people go about their lives without a care in the world, all while knowing that hundreds of feet below them were other people who were suffering?

All in all, Midgar was not a place Naruto was a fan of.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Naruto's scowl turned into a grin and he turned around. "Hey, Minerva. Is it already time for the next lesson? We're going to talk some more about materia today, right?" Minerva smiled at him, but he paused when he noticed the sad undertone she had in her eyes. "You okay?"

Minerva sighed. **"Naruto…About a year ago, something happened on the surface that worried me. Do you remember what a summon materia is?"**

Tilting his head, Naruto nodded. "It's a type of materia that's needed to summon…well, a summon, isn't it?" That part reminded a lot of the summoning contracts back in the Elemental Nations, but instead of needing to sign a contract with blood, the summoner simply needed to possess enough magic power and a special materia. "What about it?"

" **You are correct."** Minerva smiled, pleased that he remembered his lessons. **"In this world, there are various types of summon materia, with each one summoning different beings."** Her smile turned into a frown. **"…But there is one summon that is different from the rest…One that I sometimes wonder if it should never have been created in the first place."**

Naruto grew more serious when he noted the shift in her tone. "What is it?"

" **This summon is called 'Zirconiade'…Otherwise known as the 'World Burner'."** Minerva informed him. **"I don't suppose I need to tell you why it is dangerous?"**

Grimacing, Naruto shook his head. "No, I can guess…Why is that even a thing? Was there a specific reason for making a summon like that?"

Sighing again, Minerva looked away. **"…I wasn't thinking about the possible consequences at the time. I had just started to put summons on the surface, and I got a little carried away. At the time, I believed that such a powerful summon was a good idea…But I soon realized that it was a mistake."**

"What do you mean? I mean, besides the obvious?" Naruto asked. "In a way, it might be good to have something like that for people to use in the case of emergency. As long as it doesn't fall into the wrong hands, it _should_ be safe…"

Minerva shook her head. **"If that was the case, then it wouldn't have been as much of a problem. But Zirconiade proved to be…unstable is the best way to put it. Once summoned, it would go berserk and proceed to destroy everything around it. It was uncontrollable."** Naruto's eyes grew wide. **"Zirconiade would not stop until all life on the planet was destroyed."**

"Okay…That wouldn't be good." Naruto said quietly. "But it obviously didn't happen, right? The planet is still here! _You're_ still here!"

" **No, it thankfully did not come to that."** She agreed. **"And that is because I split Zirconiade into five pieces. The summon materia itself, and four support materia. All five must be used together in order to successfully summon Zirconiade. The five pieces were scattered across the planet."**

Naruto frowned slightly. "Why didn't you just destroy it? If Zirconiade was such a threat, then why not destroy it completely? Why bother splitting it up?"

Surprisingly, Minerva glared lightly at him. **"No matter what Zirconiade was or is, it was still my creation, part of the Lifestream…Part of me."** She shook her head. **"I…I couldn't bring myself to do that."**

He gave her a sad look. Naruto supposed that he could understand that. In a way, the summons were sort of like her children. Each one was unique in its own way. Zirconiade would simply be…the problem child. "Okay…Sorry, I shouldn't have said that." She stared at him for a moment before the glare went away.

" **You are forgiven. It was an understandable question."**

"Back to the point though…Why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked. "Did something happen to Zirconiade?"

Minerva's expression turned irritated. **"Yes, something did happen. As I was saying, about a year ago, I felt a shift in Zirconiade's materia. Someone was attempting to summon it."**

"But they didn't have the support materia…right?" Naruto asked hesitantly. After all, the world hadn't ended…

" **Correct. Whoever was attempting the summon only had the summon materia itself, not the others. That wouldn't be a problem, if not for the…** _ **thing**_ **that the person did to the materia."** Minerva's distaste was so apparent, that it had startled Naruto when she practically spat out the word.

"What did the person do?"

The manifestation of the Lifestream glared again, but this one was harsher and wasn't directed at Naruto. **"As best as I can tell, they…** _ **implanted**_ **the summon materia into a human. Based on my weak connection to Zirconiade, I can feel that it is slowly leeching off the life force of a human in order to manifest itself."**

Naruto was horrified at this information. "…Someone actually did that to another person?" He asked quietly. "There's someone out there, and their life is being sucked away to fuel this thing?" Minerva nodded.

" **I wasn't sure at first, mostly because Zirconiade is attempting to hide itself from me…But I eventually confirmed my fears."** Seeing Naruto's worry, she shook her head. **"Fear not, a single human doesn't have the energy needed to fuel Zirconiade. The human will die before it manages to summon itself. My worry is that this human will start to search for the support materia."**

"That's not the point!" Naruto snapped, surprising Minerva. "There's someone out there suffering because of a messed up thing that another person did! Zirconiade's return would be a problem, yeah, but this person still shouldn't have to die!"

Minerva stared at Naruto for several long moments, caught off guard by his anger. Eventually, a small smile appeared on her face. **"…You're right. Forgive me."** Huffing slightly, Naruto crossed his arms and nodded. **"All the more reason for what I am about to do."**

Her words served as enough to catch Naruto's interest. Blinking at her, he spoke up. "…What? What are you going to do?"

" **The time has come for you to go to the surface."** Minerva said, smiling at the gigantic grin he gained when he heard.

"Really? My body is finally ready?! Seriously?!" Naruto asked ecstatically.

" **Seriously."** Minerva confirmed happily. **"The process was finally completed just before I came here. Kurama is also ready, and he will be ready to wake up once you inhabit the body. All that is left is for me to insert you into it. You should note that you will still be able to use your jutsu, but there is something different them. I will give you more details once you are inside your body."**

"Hell yeah!" Naruto pumped a fist and jumped into the air in glee. "Watch out Gaia, here comes Naruto Uzumaki-ttebayo!"

Minerva giggled at his actions. **"I don't know if Gaia is ready for you…"** She teased. **"You are such a handful sometimes, even for me."**

"Heh, don't worry about it. I'll go easy on them…For now." Naruto added.

" **Just be careful."** Minerva advised good naturedly. **"You are a WEAPON. Your job is to** _ **protect**_ **the world, not destroy it with your brand of fun."** She giggled again when Naruto retaliated by sticking his tongue out at her.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up…" Naruto blinked and his smile slowly faded when he noticed that the sadness she had upon arriving came back, and stronger than before. "…What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

Averting her gaze, the sadness in her eyes grew. **"…I'm going to miss having you around."** She admitted after a moment.

Naruto's eyes immediately softened. "Minerva…" He whispered. "It's not like this is goodbye, right?"

Minerva offered him a small smile. **"I suppose not…And I'm giving you the ability to speak with the planet, much like the Cetra had. So we can still talk when we wish…"**

"Exactly!" Naruto grinned. "So don't sweat it! You've called me a chatterbox a bunch of times, so you can bet that I'm going to make you regret giving me that ability before too long!" He chalked it up as a victory when Minerva laughed again. "So it's not goodbye. It's more of a…talk to you later."

" **I see…I like that better."** Minerva smiled at him, but then her expression abruptly turned serious. **"Final WEAPON Naruto Uzumaki."** She said crisply in an authoritative tone.

Going with the shift, Naruto snapped into a salute. "Yes, ma'am!" He said, although he was smirking.

" **Your new body has been dropped into the general location of where I can feel Zirconiade's summon materia. Because it is hiding its presence from me, I can't be any more precise than that."** Minerva informed him. **"Your first mission as a WEAPON is to find Zirconiade's summon materia and extract it from the human. The method in which you do so is up to you, but do not let Zirconiade be summoned."**

"You got it!" Naruto was grinning again. "Leave it to me!"

His enthusiasm brought about a smile from Minerva. **"Good luck, Naruto. If you have any questions, you will be able to contact me. Simply concentrate and I will hear your voice."** When he nodded, the taller woman bent over slightly. To Naruto's shock, she placed a kiss on his forehead. The next second, Naruto's body began to glow. **"You'll wake up in a moment."** She said, standing back up straight. As Naruto's started to turn entirely white, he heard Minerva speak again. **"Oh, and one last thing…Don't panic over your body, okay?"**

"Huh?!" Naruto's eyes widened in alarm. "Wait, what do you mean?!" The only answer he got was a giggle. "Minerva?! That's not funny! Tell me what you mean-"

His world turned white.

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

Cerulean eyes cracked open, only to quickly shut again when the midday sun glared at him. Groaning, the owner of the eyes groggily pushed himself into a sitting position. "Ugh…That felt weird…" Naruto muttered. His hand fisted some of the grass he was sitting on. "Man, this is like that time I met Haku…" Glancing around, he saw that he was sitting on a grassy area in the middle of a forest. But unlike the previous time in the Land of Waves, there was a large lake nearby, and Naruto wasn't sure where he was. Blinking, Naruto's thoughts trailed off as he remembered his current situation.

His head snapped down towards his torso, and he grinned when he saw that looked like a normal body. Although Minerva had reassured him repeatedly, a small part of him still feared that he still wouldn't look the same…Or even human. And her final words had scared him a bit.

However, his grin slowly turned into confusion when he noticed something…off with his body. _'What…? This can't be right…'_ Hesitantly, he raised a hand up to his face and stared at it for several seconds. Swallowing nervously, he clenched it into a fist before opening it again. _'Huh? Am I-?'_ Not wanting to complete that thought, Naruto bolted to his feet. "Whoa!" Stumbling for a moment, Naruto quickly caught himself. Becoming increasingly frantic, Naruto started to pat his body down. "No. No, this can't be right."

Deciding to look for himself, Naruto put his hands into a familiar seal. " **Shadow Clone Juts** **-** Agh!" A small explosion from the spot he was attempting to make a clone appear blasted him back, sending him sprawling onto the grass. "What the hell?!" Rushing back to his feet, Naruto tripped, and therefore managing to firmly plant his face into the ground. "Ow…" Now panicking, Naruto frantically glanced around. When his eyes landed on the lake, he started to scramble towards it, nearly falling again.

Quickly reaching his target, Naruto slowed down and crept towards the water. Taking a deep breath, he hesitantly looked into the water and at his reflection. What he saw staring back at him made him gape. "Wha…That's…You gotta be kidding…"

Staring back at Naruto was the reflection of a boy, not even ten years old yet, wearing a simple orange t-shirt, black shorts, and blue shinobi sandals. The kid was an exact copy of what Naruto looked like at that age, right down to the whiskers.

"WHY THE HELL AM I A KID-TTEBAYO?!"

" _ **Ugh…Shut up, brat…"**_ Naruto froze at the voice in his head. _**"Sage, my head is killing me…"**_

"Kurama!" Naruto said gleefully, momentarily sidetracked due to his joy upon hearing his friend again.

" _ **I said shut up!"**_ Kurama shouted. _**"Stupid loud mouth human…"**_

"Sorry." Naruto said sheepishly. "But am I happy to hear you!"

He heard Kurama groan. _**"And why is that? I was just sleeping. I was tired from healing you after you…"**_ Kurama trailed off as his memories caught up to him. _**"Wait, what the hell?! What's happened?! Where did that green stuff go?! How did you wind up in a forest?! And why are you transformed into a little brat?!"**_ Kurama demanded, headache seemingly forgotten.

"It's not a transformation! I'm actually a kid again!" Naruto said, panic resurfacing.

" _ **What do you mean you're a kid again?! What happened while I was out?! I couldn't have been asleep for more than a couple of minutes!"**_ Suddenly, another voice made its presence known in Naruto's head, except this one was giggling. _**"The hell?"**_

Recognizing the voice, Naruto's eyes widened. "Minerva?!"

" _ **Who the hell is Minerva?!"**_ Kurama snapped.

" _ **I am Minerva."**_ The manifestation of the Lifestream replied. _**"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kurama."**_

" _ **It's a pleasure my ass! Who are you and how are you speaking mentally with Naruto?"**_ Naruto could hear Kurama growling at the perceived threat, so the blond hastily spoke up.

"Wait! Relax, Kurama! Minerva is a friend." He assured. "She's the one that's built me this new body and has been teaching me." Kurama's growling stopped at that.

"… _ **New body? Teaching you? What are you…?"**_ Kurama's confusion was obvious, even if Naruto couldn't see his face.

"I'll explain in a bit!" Naruto promised. "Minerva, why am I a kid?!" Hearing his question, she began to giggle again. "Don't laugh!"

" _ **The reason you are a child is because that was the only way for you to properly adjust to the changes in your new body."**_ Minerva explained. _**"Or more specifically, the changes in your jutsu and how they work. You've already seen that they don't work the same way as before."**_

"More like they don't work at all. I couldn't even create a single **Shadow Clone** without it blowing up in my face!" Naruto complained.

Kurama snorted. _**"You couldn't create a**_ _ **Shadow Clone**_ _ **?**_ **You?** _ **"**_ He asked. _**"How could you mess that up with your chakra reserves?"**_

" _ **The answer to that is simple. It is because Naruto doesn't have**_ **just** _ **chakra in him, anymore."**_ Minerva said.

" _ **Yeah, right! What else would he have, lady? And both of you still haven't explained who you are!"**_

Not bothering to bring Kurama up to speed yet, Naruto focused on what Minerva said. Eyes widening, he vocalized his thoughts. "The Lifestream? It's because I have the Lifestream in me too, isn't it?"

" _ **The heck is a Lifestream?"**_ Both Naruto and Minerva ignored the bijū.

Naruto could practically hear Minerva's smile in her tone. _**"Correct. Because you now have the Lifestream flowing through you, it throws off your jutsu. While attempting to reconstruct your chakra coils, I discovered that it was impossible to have both them and the Lifestream at the same time. The two pathways kept interfering with one another."**_

"But…Then I don't have chakra?" Naruto asked sadly. "No, wait…You said I do, so how did you fix the problem? How did you stop them from merging?"

" _ **I didn't."**_ Naruto blinked at the unexpected answer. _**"In the end, I had no choice but to let them merge in order for you to keep your abilities. As a result, the Lifestream flowing through you is slightly altered, but still acceptable."**_

Frowning, Naruto crossed his arms. "But why did my jutsu blow up like that?"

" _ **I'm so confused…"**_ Kurama was once again ignored.

" _ **That happened because you attempted to perform the jutsu in the same manner that you would have with pure chakra, which you no longer have."**_ Minerva explained. _**"What you have is a mixture of the Lifestream and chakra."**_

"…Huh?" Naruto tilted his head.

" _ **Okay, I still have no clue what's happening, but I think I understand what she is saying."**_ Kurama said. _**"If I'm understanding things right, then your apparently new body doesn't work the same way. The chakra balance you would normally use for a jutsu is different because it isn't just chakra anymore. In a way, it is similar to how you had to find the correct balance of natural energy when learning Senjutsu."**_

"…"

" _ **Oh, for the love of…It's like if a new flavor was added to an ice cream cone. But this one you have no choice but to get, so you need to get used to it."**_

"Oh! I get it now!" Naruto nodded sagely. "That makes perfect sense."

" _ **Of course it does. You freakin' moron…"**_ Kurama muttered while Minerva giggled.

Naruto paused. "But wait, why does that mean I need to be a kid again, Minerva?"

" _ **For the same reason that you start shinobi training at a young age back on your world."**_ Minerva began.

"' _ **Back on your world?!'"**_

Not bothering to elaborate for Kurama, Minerva continued. _**"It is better for the body to start learning how to manipulate chakra while it is still developing. That is still true, even if your chakra now has the Lifestream mixed in. For this reason, I created your body to be about seven years old. Starting to learn how at any age later than that could cause problems. Understand?"**_

"Yeah, I think so…" Naruto nodded. "That sucks, but I guess there is no other option…"

" _ **Unless you wish to forgo chakra and jutsu completely, there isn't."**_ The goddess confirmed.

Grimacing, Naruto shook his head. "No thanks." His eyes widened when a thought came to him. "Wait! How am I supposed to do my job as a WEAPON if I'm a kid?! And without my jutsu?! Am I supposed to find Zirconiade like this?!"

" _ **What are you guys talking about?!"**_

Minerva's amusement was heard once more. _**"I think you are overestimating the situation. While it is imperative that Zirconiade isn't allowed to manifest, there is not currently any hurry."**_

Naruto's eyebrows rose. "There isn't?"

" _ **Not at all. Zirconiade's summon materia was only implanted into a human about a year ago. Even overlooking the fact that a single human won't be enough to power the summoning, the rate at which the human's life force is being leeched would be extraordinarily slow."**_ She informed him. _**"The human won't be in danger for a while. Years, really. As for the support materia, it will likewise take a long time to find them all. I'd be surprised if things become serious within the next five years."**_

"Seriously?" Naruto gaped. "That much time? Then why bother sending me now?"

" _ **Ugh, are you even listening?!"**_ Kurama snapped in irritation. _**"How am**_ **I** _ **keeping up better than you?! I don't even know what half the crap you're saying means! Listen, idiot."**_

"Hey!"

" _ **Whatever this Zirco-who-the-hell-cares-thing is, it's trying to gain power by sucking off a human's life force-which is already questionable because you flesh bags don't have much to offer…Unless you're an Uzumaki. In which case, you're a hyperactive pain in the ass…"**_

"Kurama…" Naruto groaned. "Get to the point, please…"

" _ **Tch, I was getting there, brat."**_ The fox huffed. _**"This Zirco thing is**_ **slowly** _ **leeching off the life force of a human, sure…But that's**_ **still** _ **the**_ **life force of a human getting leeched!** _ **"**_ He emphasized. _**"It's better to stop that sooner, rather than later."**_

"Oh yeah, huh…"

Naruto couldn't see it, but Kurama was rolling his eyes. _**"On top of that, this lady already told you that you needed to start learning how to manipulate this new chakra at a young age, so she is apparently giving you time to learn how before you complete your task. Granted, it shouldn't take**_ **too** _ **long, but you can never be sure…"**_

" _ **Precisely."**_ Minerva agreed. _**"What Kurama says is true Naruto. There is still time, so it would be better to use it to learn how to use your new chakra and get experience on this world."**_

" _ **Great."**_ Kurama said sarcastically. _**"**_ **Now** _ **can you explain what's going on?!"**_

"Shut up for a second, Kurama. I'm not done talking to her, yet." Not bothering to acknowledge the infuriated roar from his partner, Naruto addressed Minerva. "Okay, I understand. So I still have a while. I'll use that to get my bearings. How different is this new chakra from my old one?"

" _ **It shouldn't be too different."**_ Minerva said after a moment of thought. _**"I've done my best to make it work just as well as the old one, but it will still take some practice. At the very least, Kurama should be able to help you learn the correct balance. He can separate the Lifestream from the chakra and into the correct amounts needed while you're still learning."**_

"He can?"

" _ **I can?"**_

" _ **Yes to both."**_ Minerva replied. _**"As said, it's vaguely similar to as if he was sending you natural energy."**_

"Alright then…I'm counting on you for now, Kurama! Help me out until I can do it myself!" Naruto grinned.

Giggling once again, Minerva spoke up. _**"On that note, I wouldn't use Kurama's chakra until your body has more time to mature. You can use it in small amounts, but prolonged periods too soon will most likely harm you. Understand?"**_ A nod. _**"Good. Did you have any more questions?"**_

Kurama opened his mouth to speak, but Naruto cut him off. "Hm, nope! Not off the top of my head!"

" _ **I give up…"**_

"If there's anything else, I can just ask you, right? You said that I can speak to the planet?" Kurama repeated that last part to himself, but no one paid him any mind.

" _ **That's right. Again, you simply need to concentrate and I will hear you."**_ The goddess confirmed. _**"If that's all, then good luck! As I said, Zirconiade is somewhere in this country, but you can take your time. This area is relatively light on monsters because of a major settlement nearby, but still be careful."**_

"Right, I got it." Nodding, a small smile appeared on his face. "Minerva…Thanks for everything."

He couldn't see her, but Minerva had a gentle smile of her own. _**"It's been a pleasure, Naruto. I'll let you know if there are any drastic changes. Goodb-"**_ She paused. _**"…I'll talk to you later."**_

Naruto grinned. "Talk to you then!" Minerva's presence faded from his mind. Getting up from his spot in the grass, Naruto stretched and looked around. "Now then…What to do now?"

"… _ **I've got a suggestion."**_

The blond blinked at Kurama's words. "Really? What is i-?"

" _ **YOU CAN TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"**_

* * *

 **The Forest (A Little Later)**

" _ **So you agreed to be one of these WEAPON things?"**_

"Yep."

" _ **Because of that, this goddess created a new body for you. Which we're now in."**_

"Mhm."

" _ **While the body was being made, she gave you some basic knowledge of this new world, which is called Gaia. And this world is filled with monsters, magic balls, toxic water, and corrupt humans."**_

"Don't forget about the alien bent on killing all life on the planet. That's out there somewhere, too."

"… _ **Of course. How could I forget? And now here you are, walking in a forest on your way to who knows where to start your search for a summon that can destroy the world."**_

"Sounds about right."

" _ **And to top it all off, I've somehow been asleep for all these new developments!"**_

"Well, to be fair, Minerva was the one to put you to sleep."

" _ **That just makes it worse!"**_ Kurama shouted before groaning. _**"I thought we were done with all this goddess and end of the world bullshit. But here you are, signing up for it in a whole different dimension."**_

Naruto frowned as he carefully stepped over a rock. He was getting really tired of tripping because he wasn't used to this smaller body, but he'd like to think he was making progress. "Do you think tha-Crap!" He was cut off as he stumbled when the ground became slightly slanted. "…Ow." Okay, so he hasn't made as much progress as he would like. "Do you think that I shouldn't have accepted the deal, then?"

" _ **What? Like hell you shouldn't have! This is way more interesting!"**_ Kurama laughed, making Naruto chuckle. _**"I shouldn't even be surprised that this happened to you!"**_

"Tch, shut up. This one wasn't even my fault." Naruto retorted, although he was still smiling.

" _ **Maybe, maybe not. It could have something to do with you just being you."**_ Kurama pondered. _**"Well, whatever. We're here now, so might as well make the most out of it."**_

"I'm with you there." Naruto agreed. "So how is this new body? Does it feel different?"

Kurama considered the question. _**"This new form of chakra is…strange, I'll give you that. But that's to be expected, really. Beyond that, I don't really see a difference. That goddess did a good job."**_

"Do you think you can make the right balance for my jutsu?" Naruto asked eagerly.

" _ **Hm, let's test it out. Try to make a**_ _ **Shadow Clone**_ _ **."**_ The bijū instructed.

Grinning, Naruto made the needed hand seal. " **Shadow Clone Ju-**!" Naruto never finished, as another explosion interrupted him. Sprawled on his back, Naruto glared up at the sky at the sound of laughter in his head. "It's not funny…" He got back to his feet. "I thought you were going to make it so that _doesn't_ happen!"

" _ **And how the heck am I supposed to do that without any practice, brat?"**_ Kurama retorted. _**"For as great as I am, this is a new form of energy to me as well. I needed something to start with. Let's try again."**_

Naruto glared down at his navel. "Am I gonna be sent onto my back again?"

"… _ **Probably not?"**_ Kurama offered.

Outright scowling now, Naruto decided that was most likely the best he was going to get on the matter. "Fine…" Putting his hands together again, Naruto tried activating the jutsu. " **Shadow Clone Jutsu**!" He was rewarded with another explosion, but this one was slightly smaller. Having expected this, Naruto prevented himself from getting thrown to the ground again. Instead, he only fell onto his rear.

" _ **You see? You just fell on your ass that time. Progress!"**_

"It wasn't much progress-ttebayo…" Naruto muttered.

" _ **Shut up and do it again! I think I'm getting the hang of it…"**_ Kurama ordered, making Naruto sigh.

* * *

 **Another Part of the Forest (Later)**

After numerous attempts with nearly just as many explosions and cursing from the blond, Naruto finally decided to save the practice until _after_ he had found a place to stay.

" _ **Come on, I almost had it! Just a little while longer!"**_

"No way in hell! You just like making it so I get an explosion in my face!"

" _ **No-Well, yeah…But that's not all! I really think I almost had the balance down!"**_ Kurama insisted. _**"That last time was only a puff of smoke!"**_

Naruto rolled his eyes, but it cost him as he stumbled when he took his eyes off of where he was stepping. Glaring, he spoke up. "I would rather save that until after I relearn how to walk properly. Tripping every ten feet is really starting to piss me of…"

" _ **I find it funny."**_

"That's because you're an ass."

" _ **Hm, true."**_ Kurama conceded. _**"But I see your point. We'll figure it out later. In all seriousness, I'm pretty sure I'll have it down after a couple more hours of practice. As for your body…"**_ He paused when Naruto had to brace himself against a tree to stop himself from falling over. _**"There's no way to fix that besides getting used to it. But I'm sure you'll figure it out quickly enough."**_

The whiskered blond blinked. "You really think so?"

Kurama snorted. _**"If there is one thing you are besides an insufferable ramen addict-"**_

"Jackass."

" _ **-it's a quick learner when it comes to physical work."**_ Kurama finished, ignoring the muttering. _**"So yes, I think you'll have it down within a few weeks. And from there, it shouldn't take too long to get used to the new chakra balance."**_

Naruto smiled. "Thanks, Kura-"

" _ **But that's all you're really good at. Anything else? Nope. And**_ **forget** _ **about the technical parts. I've seen better from an academy student! And that isn't a joke!"**_

And thus a new argument was sparked, but this one was cut short when Naruto came upon an ending to all the trees. Stepping out of the tree line, Naruto grinned at the sight in front of him. "Finally! A place where I can figure out where the hell I am!"

Naruto was standing on the edge of a tree line that was near an entire village. The designs of the buildings reminded Naruto of the Fire Temple back in the Land of Fire, in that they were all pagoda style. Several rivers went through the city in various directions, with bridges made to cross them. On the mountainside that overlooked the village were a few carvings of some kind. From where he stood, Naruto was able to spot people milling about and interacting with one another.

The sight of the village made him smile, even as a pang of sadness hit his heart. This place was very similar to Konoha.

Pulling his thoughts back to the here and now, Naruto grinned. "Alright, let's go check it out!" He made to walk towards the village.

" _ **Hold it."**_ The sudden instruction from Kurama made him still.

"What? Why?"

" _ **Use your eyes, idiot."**_ Kurama said seriously. _**"Look around the edges of the village. Those towers."**_ Doing as he was told, Naruto's eyes trailed over to the towers stationed periodically around the perimeter of the village. _**"What do you see?"**_

Narrowing his eyes in thought, Naruto frowned. After a minute, his frown deepened. "…They're watch towers." He said quietly.

" _ **Exactly."**_ Kurama agreed. _**"And based on what I'm seeing, each one is full of people who are holding what I can only assume to be some kind weapon. These people are on the lookout for something. And whatever it is, they don't expect it to be friendly."**_ The bijū paused. _**"And do you not sense that?"**_

Naruto tilted his head. "Sense what?"

" _ **The negative emotions, fool!"**_ Kurama exclaimed in irritation. _**"This place is full of negative emotions!"**_

Closing his eyes, Naruto reached his senses out in an attempt to see what Kurama was talking about. After a moment, he felt it too. "These people are…worried? Scared?" He analyzed.

" _ **Right. Going by that and the fact that they have guard towers and patrols in a couple of places…I'm going to guess that these people are at war."**_

That thought saddened Naruto, even as he agreed with it. The emotions he was sensing reminded him of the things his clones sensed from various groups during the Fourth Shinobi War. "You're probably right…"

" _ **I usually am."**_ Kurama said arrogantly. _**"I think it would be a good idea for you to lay low for now and wait to get information. We don't know how these people will react to your presence. They could dismiss you as a threat because you appear to be a child, or…"**_

Naruto sighed. "Or they could consider me a possible threat anyways." He finished. That was how things were done in the Elemental Nations, after all. "Yeah, yeah. I understand."

" _ **Good. Then turn around and get some distance from this place. It would be best to camp out for a while until you at least have your coordination back."**_ Kurama advised. _**"This is probably the place that Minerva was talking about, so monsters should be scarce as long as we don't venture too far. I'm guessing that they take care of any monsters that get too close."**_

The blond hummed in agreement as he turned around and walked back into the forest. Sighing, began to plan. "Alright, sounds like a plan. We should also avoid any patrols that we come across…"

* * *

 **One Month Later**

Naruto yawned from his spot in the branch of a tree. "Why the heck does Shikamaru do this so often? This is really putting me to sleep…" Cloud watching was not Naruto's thing. He understood that other people might enjoy it, but it was hard for him to sit for so long.

He heard Kurama scoff in his mind. _**"Of course. Something like this isn't chaotic enough for an Uzumaki, let alone**_ **you** _ **…"**_

Rolling his eyes, Naruto spoke up. "Yeah? And what's your definition of fun? Rampaging through a city or two?"

Kurama snorted. _**"Why, yes. That would be fun. But I'll settle for blowing something up. I'm not picky…"**_ It was now Naruto's turn to snort.

Surprisingly enough, a month had already gone by since Naruto had woken up in the forest. Just as Kurama had predicted, he had regained most of his coordination by the end of the third week, to the point that he was fairly sure he could fight well enough in hand to hand combat. Granted, he still made mistakes and needed to remember that this body was currently more limited than his old one, but he was improving.

Once he had felt confident enough, Naruto had snuck into the village during the middle of the night in order to get some information. It was easy enough to find out where he was, and he found the answer ironic.

The village was called Wutai Village. And it was the primary settlement of the nation of Wutai.

And it was a ninja village.

A _ninja_ village.

While Naruto had a good laugh over that, Kurama wondered if Minerva was messing with them. Based on what he could see, these ninjas weren't like the shinobi back home, although there were some similarities. One of the biggest differences was the obvious fact that although there were ninjas around, they didn't make up the entirety of the armed forces. There were other soldiers too, and they were mostly armed with lances and these things called guns.

 _That_ had been a surprise. Naruto new about guns from Minerva, but he hadn't seen one in action until he spied on a soldier using it during training.

Using extreme caution, Naruto had managed to grab a few kunai and shuriken from the village. He felt somewhat bad about it, but he needed something to hunt with to re-familiarize himself with thrown weapons in his new body. After hours of practice, he had managed to hit the target about half the time.

Although Kurama still gleefully pointed out that his aim was still worse than that of a genin.

After adjusting well enough to this new body, Naruto had grudgingly agreed to go back to practicing with Kurama to get the balance down for his altered chakra. Much to Naruto's shock -And Kurama's irritation that he had been shocked in the first place- the bijū had made good on his word. He really _had_ figured out the correct balance after only a few more hours of work. It wasn't perfect, but he could now create a couple dozen clones. The worst part was that he couldn't do the **Rasengan** yet.

Unfortunately for Naruto, he had yet to make much progress when it came to doing it himself. While it reminded him greatly of sage training, it was also completely different. The first attempt to just do what he did for Sage Mode resulted in the biggest explosion to date. And once Naruto's ears finally stopped ringing, he yelled at Kurama to stop laughing.

That had only made the fox laugh more.

And so here he was, taking a break from the explosions and taunting of Kurama. The only problem was that when he wasn't occupying himself with training, there wasn't much else for Naruto to do. His only options were to train, explore the forest and hope he didn't run into any monsters of patrols, or explore the village in broad daylight. But another thing he had noticed was that everyone in the village had either brown or black hair. His bright blond hair stood out too easily and then people would be more likely to ask about where he came from.

He would like to avoid such a thing. At least until he came up with a believable story to use.

Naruto sighed again. "So bored~"

" _ **For the sake of the sage! Shut up! I'm trying to sleep!"**_

"But Kurama!" Naruto practically whined. "There's nothing to do!"

" _ **Go find something then! I'm sure that you'll be able to!"**_ Kurama growled irritably.

A frown pulled at the blond's face. "…Are you calling me a trouble magnet?"

"Kyah!" Before Kurama could answer, a scream from nearby cut through the air, making Naruto surge to his feet on the branch.

"… _ **Yes. Yes, I am."**_ Kurama groaned. _**"And that's what I get for tempting it in the first place. Karma hates me."**_

A shout prompted Naruto to jump down and start running towards the source. "Now's not the time, Kurama!"

" _ **It's apparently never the time! When is it finally going to 'be time'?!"**_

"Not now!" The sounds of shouting were getting closer, so Naruto picked up the pace. Soon, he came upon a clearing, allowing him to clearly see the source of the noise.

On the ground with her back against a lone tree was a young girl, glaring defiantly at the creature in front of her with a shuriken in hand, even as it slowly approached. Slowing making its way to the girl was a monster that reminded Naruto of an oversized lizard, except this one was colored purple and had something similar to spiky, green dorsal fins going down its back.

"Hey, ugly! I'm only giving you one more warning! Get away from me now or I'll be forced to use my ninja moves on you!" The girl shouted. Despite the situation, Naruto found himself impressed by her lack of fear.

In his head, Kurama snorted. _**"Take a closer look. She's shaking like a leaf and her back is against the wall. She's all bark and no bite."**_

Ignoring his partner for the moment, Naruto saw that the monster was getting closer and closer to the girl. Deciding to act, Naruto took out a kunai and rushed in. Unfortunately, the monster chose that moment to crouch lower in preparation to attack, only serving to make the girl yell at it some more.

Seeing this, Naruto cursed under his breath and took aim. _'Please let this hit.'_ Letting the kunai fly, Naruto was relieved to see that it hit the monster directly in the side, successfully drawing its attention away from the girl. After it looked away from her, Naruto called out to the girl, who was now staring at him with wide eyes. "Get out of there!"

The girl blinked at him before glaring. "What?! No way! I almost finished it off! Juts let me work!" Turning her attention back to the monster that was now staring at Naruto, she hurled her shuriken at it.

Only for it to sail right over the immobile monster and to the other side of the clearing.

"…I was close! If it hadn't moved at the last second, then I would have had it!" The girl quickly covered.

"… _ **That's just…Wow…Naruto, we've found this world's version of you."**_

' _Shut up, Kurama!'_ Naruto shouted in his head. When Naruto's eyes moved to the girl in disbelief, the monster used that chance to attack. Curling itself into a ball, it began to roll towards Naruto at a rapid speed. "Crap!" Jumping to the side, Naruto narrowly avoided getting hit. When he whirled around, he saw that the monster had come out of its ball and turned back towards him. Pulling out a second kunai, Naruto glared at it. "Come on, lizard thing. Come a little closer…"

Growling, the lizard rushed at Naruto with its jaws open in preparation of taking a bite out of him, much to the blond's pleasure. After taking a moment to crouch, Naruto timed his jump so that he would spin around and land right on top of the gap between dorsal fins. Smirking, Naruto grabbed onto the fin in front of him and held on tightly, preventing the angered monster from bucking him off. "Thanks for listening-ttebayo!" Acting quickly, he stabbed the kunai into the monster's neck.

Roaring in pain, the monster tried harder to buck Naruto off, but Naruto refused to let go. Instead, he pulled his kunai out of its neck, only to drive it back in again. This time, the attack served as enough to bring the monster down.

" _ **Fatality!"**_ Kurama cackled.

Once again ignoring the sociopathic voice in his head, Naruto glared down at the lizard thing until he saw that it had stopped twitching. Sighing in relief, he pulled the kunai out of the monster and grimaced at the weird colored blood coating it.

"Gross…" He muttered before sliding off the monster. Landing lightly on his feet, Naruto blinked when he heard footsteps approaching him. Turning towards the source, the blond smiled when he saw it was the girl. "Hey there, you ok-"

"Cheater!" The girl's abrupt interruption caught Naruto off guard.

Thoroughly confused, Naruto frowned at her. "What?"

"You cheated!" The girl accused with a finger thrust in his face. "You only beat it because I tired it out first! So that means you cheated!"

Naruto gaped at the girl. _**"Sage, is she serious?"**_ Naruto silently agreed with Kurama's incredulous question.

Shaking his head, Naruto spoke up. "Look, I saw that you were in trouble-"

"I was not!" The girl exclaimed.

The blond smirked at her. "You weren't?"

"No!"

Smirk widening, Naruto tilted his head. "So you missing that shuriken throw was on purpose then?" His smirk turned into a grin when red seeped into the girl's cheeks.

"Of course it was! It was a masterful distraction move! And it would have worked if _you_ hadn't messed it up!" She glared at him.

"But I thought it missed because the monster moved at the last second?" Naruto teased, making her cheeks become darker.

"T-That too!" Crossing her arms, the girl nodded her head. "After all, I am the best ninja in Wutai. There's no way I can make such an amateur mistake!"

"The best ninja in Wutai?" Naruto repeated skeptically.

Either not hearing the tone or ignoring it completely, the girl nodded again. "That's right! You should be in awe at my presence! It's not every day that such a novice gets to speak with me. And one day, everyone will know how awesome I am!"

" _ **Naruto, I'm serious. She's either this world's version of you, or that Sarutobi brat."**_

"Then why was it the novice that got the kill on the monster?" Naruto asked with a smile.

Blushing again, the girl hastily spoke up. "L-Like I said! It was a fluke!" She pointed at him. "Come on, let's go! I challenge you to a fight! You and me, right here and now!"

" _ **Just swap out the gender, eyes, cheeks, and hair, and I wouldn't be able to tell a difference."**_

Rolling his eyes, Naruto shook his head. "No thanks. I don't want to fight you."

Grinning widely, the girl closed the distance between the two of them before she started to punch and kick at the air. "What's wrong?! You scared?!"

" _ **Hey, do you think she's an addict too? Maybe not ramen, but some kind of addiction problem…"**_

Chuckling, Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, I'm shaking. Please don't hurt me."

Hearing this, the girl ran away to gain some distance. Once she determined she was far enough away, she put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest. "Of course! I guess I'm just too good for anyone to have a chance of fighting me!"

" _ **Oh, wait. She acts like you, but she has the arrogance of an Uchiha."**_

She waved cheerily to Naruto. "Well, if you ever feel like taking on a real challenge, come find me in the village! Although I doubt you'll ever be good enough. And someone of my skill has better things to do than hang around with a rookie…" Nodding one last time at him, she turned in the direction of the village and took a few steps, Naruto watching her go. After a few seconds, she stopped and stood there. After a minute had passed in silence, the girl looked over her shoulder at him. "I'm seriously gonna go! Really!"

" _ **Oh, you have**_ **got** _ **to be kidding me."**_

Laughing internally, Naruto called out to her. "Hold on."

" _ **Why are you stopping her?! She's annoying!"**_

' _Why not?'_ Naruto answered. _'She's hoping that I ask her to stay.'_

The girl beamed at him and turned around. "What? You want me to stay?"

" _ **No!"**_

Grinning, Naruto nodded. "Would you?"

The girl made a show of humming and crossing her arms with a thoughtful look on her face. "Well…I guess you weren't _completely_ bad in that fight with the monster…" She allowed. "With enough hard work, you _might_ be able to get close to my level of skill…" The girl nodded with a grin. "Sure, I'll let you hang out with me!"

" _ **Yeah, because it's**_ **such** _ **a privilege**_ **…** _ **'**_

Not stopping himself this time, Naruto laughed, but this only served to make the childish glare return. "Hey, what's so funny?!"

Shaking his head, Naruto responded. "Nothing, nothing. It's something stupid." His smile widened at Kurama's muttering. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

The girl nodded. "Congratulations, Naruto! From this day on, you are friends with the greatest ninja in all of Wutai!" She struck a pose. "None other than Yuffie Kisaragi!"

* * *

 **There we go! All done with Chapter 2!**

 **Why is the pairing always the first thing people ask about? Isn't the point of a story the…well, the story? I'm not confident in writing romance stuff…**

 **The whole materia thing is a huge pain in the ass, simply because the concept seems to change with every game. So I'm just going to do my understanding of it, okay? Or at least, I'm going to do my understanding combined with what's easier for me.**

 **Did I nerf Naruto? Yes, you can say that I did nerf him a bit. For now, at least. What the hell is the point of doing this if he is going to be OP straight from the start? Will he be OP later? Only if I feel like it.**

* * *

 **Review Responses!**

 **Kairitrion Cerulean: If I felt that there was any significance or weight to the WEAPON names, then I would have done that. But as it stands, there are gemstones, a Greek letter, and a word for WEAPON names. Ultimate WEAPON isn't even the strongest or the last one. Hell, the prerequisite to get Emerald (The strongest one in the original game) and Ruby to appear is to** _ **beat**_ **Ultimate. So yeah, I didn't care too much about it because the whole naming system irritates me. And once again, you are in my head. :P How else would you have known to draw that?**

 **Qrious writ3r: If there is one, it won't be for a** _ **while**_ **.**

 **Cuina: Have your questions been answered?**

* * *

 **Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kog6943**


	3. Chapter 3

**And we're back! Welcome to The Final WEAPON: Preliminary Crisis, Chapter 3!**

 **I started this chapter about a week ago…Kept telling myself I would finish the next day…**

 **Lemme reiterate. Naruto is weakened for now. Naruto is nerfed** _ **for now**_ **. Could I have made him OP straight from the start? Yeah, but I didn't want to. He** _ **will**_ **get stronger, of course. OP levels…? Probably, sure.**

 **Cloud and Sephiroth pull off some unbelievable shit, so it makes sense that I'll make Naruto be able to too.**

* * *

 **Anyways, on with the story!**

 **I don't own Naruto, Final Fantasy VII, or anything else. I'm just a broke college student…**

* * *

Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Normal Thinking: _'Insert witty remark here.'_

Bijū/Deity Talking in Naruto's Head: _**"Insert witty remark here."**_

Bijū/Deity Thinking in Naruto's Head: **'Insert witty remark here.'**

Scene Change: **Insert Place Here**

Jutsu/Technique: **Insert Jutsu Here**

* * *

"None other than Yuffie Kisaragi!"

Naruto couldn't help but stare at Yuffie for several seconds, unable to process what he was seeing. _'There's something really familiar about this…'_

In his mind, Naruto heard Kurama scoff in derision. _**"I keep telling you that she is this world's version of you! Only now she is showing traits of that perverted toad. He's the only other person I've seen that would introduce themselves while**_ **posing** _ **…"**_

' _Oh…You're right…'_ Naruto blinked several times as he fully took in Yuffie's appearance for the first time.

She had short black hair and black eyes. Yuffie's outfit was made up of a green vest with yellow trimming and a hood, white shorts, and white shoes. Completing her outfit was a white headband.

Now that he got a good look at her, Naruto couldn't help but notice something. _'Wait…I think she's even younger than this body is!'_ As much as he hated to admit it, Naruto knew that he was short as a child, which was something that Minerva unfortunately recreated in this new body. Despite that, Yuffie was _still_ shorter than he was!

" _ **Tch. The brat looks to be around six or so. And yet she still has all this bravado…"**_ Kurama observed with great distaste.

Suddenly, Naruto was pulled from his thoughts when a hand started waving in front of his face. Leaning back, Naruto saw that Yuffie was sending an annoyed glare his way. "Huh?"

Knowing that he was finally paying attention again, Yuffie put her hands on her hips with a huff. "I know that you're awed to meet me, but pay attention! Don't you know it's rude to just stare at a person?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head with a sheepish chuckle. "My bad. I was thinking about something."

Yuffie tilted her head at this with a curious expression. "What were you thinking about?"

The blond grinned slightly. "You reminded me of someone a bit, that's all." He replied.

"Hm, that's not too much of a surprise." Yuffie grinned. "Many people try to be like me! But no matter how hard they try, they will never be able to be as awesome as I am!"

' _She doesn't exactly shy away from sharing her opinion of herself, does she?'_

Kurama snorted. _**"That's one way to put it."**_

"But enough about that!" Yuffie looked Naruto up and down with a thoughtful expression. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you around before." She said. "And it's kinda hard to miss someone with hair that bright…"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't go into the village much. I'd rather spend my time out here in the woods, training."

Yuffie's eyes shone at this. "Training?" She repeated. "Training for what?"

Quirking an eyebrow, Naruto held the kunai that was still in his hand up. "Oh, I don't know…What kind of person uses a kunai for a weapon?" He wondered.

Shooting him a glare that was nearly a pout, Yuffie crossed her arms. "Jerk! You could be training for something else! How was I supposed to know you were a ninja in training?!"

"If you didn't know that, then why did you challenge me to a fight?" Naruto questioned innocently. "Do you usually go around trying to fight people with no training?" He enjoyed seeing the blush return to her cheeks.

"Sh-Shut up! I do not fight just anybody!" She nodded. "As a defender of Wutai, it is my duty to protect its people. I can't do that if I'm beating them all up! In fact, it's because I saw you're potential that I thought you could take it!"

"Oh, is that so…?"

"Yes, it is!"

"If you say so…"

"Why are you saying it like that?!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about…"

" _ **Okay, you distracted her from asking why she hasn't seen you before! Don't encourage this idiocy any further!"**_

' _Nah, this is way too much fun.'_ Naruto took great pleasure from the irritated growl from his partner.

"Ugh, if you're gonna be my friend, then you can't be a jerkface!" Yuffie exclaimed. "You're lucky to even be around me for this long! I can still go away!"

Naruto smiled at her. "My bad. I'm sorry about that."

Eyeing him suspiciously for a moment, Yuffie slowly nodded her head. "As long as you get it…" She said.

"So what were you doing out here on your own, Yuffie? I don't think you meant to come across that monster…" He nodded towards the dead lizard that was slowly fading away. Seeing her suddenly stiffen, he blinked. "Huh?"

Yuffie released a nervous sounding laugh. "Ehehe…About that…I was…Um…" She attempted to find something to say. "I was…I was training! Yeah, that's it! You're not the only one who comes out here to train!"

Naruto smirked. "So you did mean to find that monster? Is that how you train?"

"Y-Yeah, it is!" Yuffie declared. "I come out here all the time to train. The monsters make good practice, you know."

"They do." Naruto agreed. "But I don't use them for training much. Right now, I'm more focused on developing my fighting style."

" _ **More like fixing it to work with your current body, shorty."**_

' _Shut up.'_ At this point, his body was preventing him from doing a good deal of the moves that he knew due to the lack of strength and reach, so he was trying to work around it.

Yuffie nodded at this. "That is important. I myself have spent countless hours honing my fighting style to perfection."

" _ **Oh yeah? And where was this perfect fighting style when your back was against a tree and you were shaking in fear?"**_ Naruto was about to tell him to be nice, but Kurama cut him off. _**"We've got company. A small group coming from the direction of the village. And they're in a hurry."**_

' _Threats?'_ Naruto asked, tuning out Yuffie's lecture.

" _ **Depends on what you deem as a 'threat'."**_ Kurama answered. _**"I'm sensing worry and anxiousness from them, but not hostility. If I had to guess…"**_

' _They're coming for Yuffie.'_ Naruto surmised, looking off to the side. No sooner had he come to this conclusion than did several figures speed out of the trees and into the clearing.

"Lady Yuffie!" The lead one called. Out of all of them, he was the most identifiable due to the x-shaped scar on his left cheek.

Hearing this, Yuffie stiffened again. "Uh oh…" Hesitantly turning around, she slumped at the sight of the newcomers.

'' _Lady' Yuffie?'_ Naruto repeated, a sense of apprehension growing in him. _'Who the heck is she?'_ Looking over the group, Naruto saw that they were all dressed similarly. Each of them was wearing a uniform that Naruto has learned to identify with the military of Wutai, except their uniforms were yellow in some spots. Remembering what that color meant, Naruto's jaw dropped slightly. _'Aren't they…'_

" _ **They're the imperial guard!"**_ Kurama stated in shock. _**"Naruto, this isn't just some random brat!"**_

Upon reaching the two children, the apparent leader let out a sigh of relief. "There you are. You know you're not supposed to run off without an escort, Lady Yuffie. Especially at a time like this." He said. The man's eyes moved to Naruto, and the blond noticed what he felt was suspicion grow in the man. The leader's suspicion grew and was joined by a hint of hostility when he spotted the kunai in Naruto's hand. "And you especially shouldn't be alone with a potential spy…" Naruto became slightly nervous when he saw that the other soldiers were eyeing him warily. "Who are you, boy?"

"Um, I'm…"

"He's my new partner!" Yuffie cut in, stepping in between Naruto and the soldiers with a defiant glare. "Don't call him a spy!" Despite his appreciation at Yuffie's intervention, Naruto couldn't help but wonder when he became her partner, not to mention he had no idea what he was her partner _in_.

Shifting minutely in unease, the leader frowned at the young girl. "Your partner? What do you mean by that, Lady Yuffie?" His eyes slid over to the body of the monster, which was now nearly completely gone. "…Does it have anything to do with that Tail Vault?"

Crossing her arms, Yuffie nodded. "Yes it does. Naruto here impressed me by helping me kill that monster. Because of that, I agreed to let him become my partner!"

Deciding to try and look more innocent and clueless, Naruto tilted his head. "Huh? When did I agree to that? I thought we were friends…"

Spinning around, Yuffie pointed at him. "That too! But that doesn't mean we can't be partners too!"

"But you haven't told me what I'm your partner in…"

"I thought it would be obvious! You're my ninja partner!"

"And if I would rather only be your friend?"

"Why wouldn't you want to be my partner? You should consider yourself lucky!"

"I don't feel very lucky…"

"Rude!"

As the two of them dissolved into bickering, most of the tension bled out of the soldiers, to Naruto's relief. It seemed that seeing him holding a weapon so close to their charge put them on edge, but Naruto taking part in a childish argument allowed them to relax a bit. Despite this, Naruto could still feel slight wariness coming from the men.

Clearing his throat, the leader interrupted them. "So…Naruto, was it?" Seeing the blond nod, the man continued. "Can you tell me what exactly happened here? I can take a guess as to what Lady Yuffie would tell me, but I would like to hear your side of things."

Shrugging, Naruto put the kunai away. "I was relaxing in the forest when I suddenly heard a scream. Following the shouting, I found Yuffie cornered by the monster."

"I was _not_ cornered!"

"There really isn't much else to say. I got lucky and managed to stab it in the neck when it tried to take a bite out of me." Naruto continued.

"You only killed it because of my awesome distraction!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Your 'awesome distraction' was to throw a shuriken at it and miss." He reminded her.

"That wasn't my fault!" Yuffie replied. "It moved at the last second, remember?"

"That's not what I remember happening…"

"Ugh! If you wanna be my partner, then you need to agree with everything I say!"

"I don't think that's how a partnership works."

Scowling, Yuffie stamped her foot. "Well, that's how this one works!" By now, the soldiers were more amused than hostile, but it was obvious that they were still slightly wary of Naruto.

The leader cleared his throat again to bring attention back to himself. "Regardless, you have my thanks for…helping Lady Yuffie defeat the monster." The man said. Turning his attention back to Yuffie, he continued. "Now then, it is time for you to return home, Lady Yuffie."

Hearing this, Yuffie's eyes grew wide. "No way!" She darted behind Naruto, using him as some kind of shield. "It's still the middle of the day! Why should I go back now?"

"You left without telling anyone. Because of that, you had a lot of us worried that something would happen to you…again." Naruto had the impression that Yuffie gave this man worry on a regular basis. "So it would be best for you to return for the day."

Yuffie rapidly shook her head in denial. "Nope! Not happening!" She stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm not going back yet!"

"Lady Yuffie…" The leader sighed. Despite himself, Naruto saw signs of amusement in the man. "I must insist…"

Glowering at him, Yuffie remained stubborn. "I said no!" The man opened his mouth again, but Yuffie didn't give him the chance to speak. Grinning widely, she continued. "How about this? I don't want to go home yet, but I'll stay in the village! I won't leave it again!"

The leader paused and stared at her suspiciously. "…Just like that?" He asked after a moment, clearly doubtful. "You will stay within the boundaries?"

' _How often does she leave it on her own for him to respond like that?'_ Naruto wondered.

" _ **Clearly more than he would like. I pity the man. Having to deal with this brat all the time…"**_

"I promise!" Yuffie chirped. "…For today, at least!"

"Ah, there we go." The man muttered. A small frown was forming on his face.

Seeing this, Yuffie pouted. "Please~? I _really_ don't wanna go back yet!" She begged. Shifting uncomfortably, the leader was about to deny her wish, but faltered. A minute later, he sighed, prompting Yuffie to beam happily.

" _ **What a weak will! That was pathetic!"**_

"…Very well…You don't have to go home right now." The man's expression turned stern. "But you _will_ keep your promise and stay within the village!" He instructed.

Yuffie nodded giddily. "I swear it on my honor as a ninja!"

"' _ **Honor as a ninja?'"**_ Kurama parroted. _**"She's a ninja, not a samurai!"**_

' _I dunno…It sounds good to me…'_

Naruto heard something that sounded suspiciously like a strong face palm. _**"That's because you're already a weird shinobi! Most shinobi don't make it a thing to never break a promise!"**_ Kurama roared in frustration.

It was clear that the soldiers shared Kurama's opinion, given by the way that they either quietly sighed or traded glances upon hearing Yuffie's promise. Shaking his head slightly, the leader nodded. "Good. Then you may go ahead and head back now."

"Okay!" To Naruto's surprise, Yuffie latched a hand around his wrist. "Come on, Naruto! Let's go!"

"Huh? Wait, what?!" The young girl began dragging the blond in the direction of the village. "Why am I coming?!"

"Well, duh! We're partners and friends now! It only makes sense for us to hang out!" Yuffie proclaimed enthusiastically.

Naruto gave her a disbelieving look. "But I still haven't agreed to be your partner!"

"You don't have to say anything! Of course you're gonna agree!"

"No, you _don't_ know that-ttebayo!"

The group of soldiers watched as the two children disappeared into the forest. Once they were gone, one of them spoke up. "Sir…Are you sure that it is okay for us to leave Lady Yuffie with that boy?" He asked. "He _could_ be some kind of spy. Those hair and eye colors are unusual around here. Not to mention that he is armed…"

Instead of responding right away, the leader was silent for a bit. "…I'm not foolish enough to leave her alone with him without supervision. Two of the Crescent Unit will watch them from the shadows." He turned towards his subordinates. "Just to be sure, none of you have ever seen him before?" They all replied negatively. "…That's what I thought." They would have to look into it.

* * *

 **With Naruto and Yuffie (A Few Minutes Later)**

Naruto sighed as yet another passing person greeted Yuffie with a smile before sending a questioning look his way. It was clear that they were all curious as to who he was, and his features were giving some of them a false idea about his identity.

Spotting another frown aimed at him, Naruto resisted the urge to scowl. _'They don't trust me.'_

" _ **No shit."**_ Kurama snorted. _**"Some random kid with obviously foreign features shows up out of nowhere, hangs out with a brat that they all seem to know and like, and it is in the middle of wartime? Of course they don't trust you. The only reasons that they are not even questioning you a bit are because of your apparent age and the fact that Yuffie seems to like you."**_

The blond hummed lightly in agreement. This was his first time in the village in broad daylight, let alone his first time walking down a busy street when people could see him. Part of him wished that he could just turn around and walk back into the forest, but another part was thankful for finally having a chance to walk around _without_ having to sneak around.

Glancing to his companion, Naruto noted that Yuffie appeared to be oblivious to all the looks being sent their way. The girl was smiling as she led Naruto down the street to some destination that she had yet to share.

On the bright side, Naruto had finally convinced her to let him go by promising not to run off.

Spotting yet another woman glance at him, Naruto grinned and waved. After a moment of hesitation, the woman smiled back and returned the wave. _'At least it's not as bad as some of the villagers in Konoha were.'_

" _ **These humans simply don't know what to think of you, more than anything else."**_ Kurama once again supplied.

"Oh, hello Yuffie!" Naruto was snapped out of his observations as a yet another woman walking down the street greeted Yuffie. But unlike the others, this one went as far as to approach Yuffie in order to speak with her. Another thing that stood out to Naruto was that this woman was wearing a more expensive looking outfit. He could also spot some jewelry on her. "It's wonderful to see you again, my dear."

Naruto watched in interest as Yuffie smiled back at the woman, but he could sense some annoyance and distaste swell in her. "Hi, Mrs. Kagetsu!"

The woman, Mrs. Kagetsu, smiled at the girl. "It's been so long since you last came to visit, Yuffie. Tōbei has just been dying to see you again."

Yuffie laughed weakly at that. "Oh, sorry about that…I've been busy with training and stuff…"

Mrs. Kagetsu nodded, but Naruto noted that she gave off traces of displeasure. "I'm sure. But Yuffie, you mustn't spend all your time on that. A girl of your standing has better things to do than play ninja outside."

Hearing this, Yuffie bristled slightly. "I'm not _playing_ ninja. I'm really training."

"Of course, my mistake…" The woman said patronizingly.

' _I don't like her.'_ Naruto decided.

" _ **Tch. I'm not particularly fond of humans in general, but even I have to admit that**_ **she** _ **is** **more annoying than average."**_

Mrs. Kagetsu shook her head, plastering an insincere smile back on. "Regardless, I have been trying to set up a date that you would be free to come over, but I have yet to receive a response…" She smiled in a way that was probably meant to be sweet, but it made Naruto want to gag. "Are you free now? Tōbei is at home, so it would be a good chance for you to catch up."

"Um…" Yuffie swallowed nervously. "That's…I mean…"

Deciding to intervene, Naruto stepped forward with a smile. "Sorry, Mrs. Kagetsu, but Yuffie is busy right now. She promised to show me the best places to hang out around the village before we started sparring." He said enthusiastically. Naruto saw relief and gratitude bloom on Yuffie's face as he detected the distaste and anger from the woman.

"Oh, is that so?" Mrs. Kagetsu inquired.

"Yep!" Naruto nodded.

"And you are…?"

Naruto grinned at her. "My name's Naruto! It's nice to meet'cha!"

"…A pleasure…"

Yuffie quickly nodded. "What he said!" She grabbed his hand. "Sorry, Mrs. Kagetsu. But I promised, so I've got to do it!"

Mrs. Kagetsu blinked and frowned minutely. "Wait, Yuff-"

"Bye! Maybe next time!" Not giving her a chance to say anything further, Yuffie began running away, this time without having to drag Naruto. The two of them quickly made their way down the street before turning the corner. After a minute of running, Yuffie led him into an alley before she sighed and let him go. "That was close…" She muttered before grinning at him. "Thanks for the save!"

Naruto smiled back. "No problem. It looked like you didn't like her much…"

"Ugh, more like at all!" Yuffie pouted. "She is so annoying! She's always trying to make me spend time at her house and hang out with her stupid son! Not to mention that she keeps trying to get me to stop training and be more _ladylike_." She practically spat the final word.

"Hm…" Naruto rested his arms behind his head. "Why does she do that?" Yuffie stiffened again at this. "Yuffie?"

"I dunno…"

The blond rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you do." He deadpanned. "Are you a noble's kid?" He asked, only succeeding in making her avert her gaze. Naruto was pretty sure he finally remembered where he had heard Yuffie's family name before. After a moment of silence, Naruto shrugged and looked away. "Whatever, not like it matters."

Yuffie blinked and snapped her eyes back to him. "Huh?"

"I said it doesn't matter." Naruto said. He began walking down the alleyway. "Why should I care if you're some big shot's kid? It wouldn't make a difference." He looked over his shoulder with a smile. "You're still my friend, right?"

Yuffie stared at him for several long seconds. Eventually, a smile broke out across her face. "You know it! And more than that, we're partners!" She reminded him.

Naruto snorted and faced forward again. "Still not sure if I want to be your partner. How do _I_ know I want _you_ as my partner?" He teased.

"Hey! Like I said, you're lucky to have me as a partner!" Yuffie yelled, although she was still smiling.

"So you keep saying…"

"Ugh, you're so…!" Shaking her head, Yuffie dashed forward and passed Naruto. "Come on!"

"Hey, wait! Where are we going?!"

Instead of stopping to answer, Yuffie laughed as she ran. "You said it yourself! I'm going to show you the best places to hang out around the village!"

"But that was just something I said to get rid of that lady!"

"Well now it's really happening! So move it!"

Naruto sighed, but he couldn't hide the grin on his face while he sped up to catch up to her. "Fine…" Behind the two children, a figure darted across the rooftop. Making sure not to show anything on his face, Naruto tried sensing the person. _'Kurama…'_

" _ **Yeah, I know."**_ The bijū replied. _**"You can relax. I'm sure you can sense that there isn't anything hostile coming from them. They're most likely watching the brat as some kind of guard and watching you at the same time."**_

' _I figured that…'_ Naruto responded. _'…Fine. Let them watch.'_

* * *

 **Outskirts of the Village (Later that Day)**

"So where are we going this time? An abandoned well? Or is it another fishing spot?" Naruto asked with obvious amusement.

Although he couldn't see her face from where she was walking in front of him, Naruto knew that Yuffie was blushing. "Shut up! Those are awesome spots!" She called back.

"Yeah, I just loved the way that that fish splashed the water…"

"Shut up!"

Naruto snickered quietly as he followed Yuffie up the winding path. They had spent the majority of the day running around the village to places that Yuffie _swore_ were the best and most secret places to hang out in the village, only to be repeatedly led to the most mundane and insignificant locations over and over again.

Personally, Naruto got a kick out of Yuffie attempting to assure him that an ant hill was super cool.

The blond glanced towards the rapidly darkening sky. "Hey, Yuffie…"

The girl looked over her shoulder at him. "Yeah?"

"It's getting kind of late. Are you sure that it's okay for you to stay out this long?" He asked. A small frown appeared on his face. "Not to mention that we're nearly out of the village again. You promised to stay inside it…"

Yuffie waved him off with a smile. "Relax! We're almost there. And it's totally fine for me to still be out still!" Her smile widened and she pointed ahead of them. "Look, there it is!" She stated. And indeed, Naruto could see that the incline they were walking up seemed to finally come to an end only about a hundred feet away. "Hurry up!" She ran ahead.

Smiling, Naruto sped up follow her. Seeing that she came to a stop next to a large tree, Naruto slowed down. "So what is it this time? A log?"

Hearing this, Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him. "No! Stop being a jerk and come look!" She demanded.

"Sure, sure. Right away…" As he came up behind her, Naruto spoke up. "Seriously though, what did you bring me here for?"

"This!" Yuffie declared proudly. "Check it out!" Following her gaze, Naruto's eyes slowly widened.

"Whoa…"

Yuffie had brought him to a large and grassy hill that overlooked the entire village. From there, Naruto could spot the Da-chao Statue off in the distance as well as see the all of the buildings in the village, along with the subdued bustle in the streets as people made their way home. Making the scene even better was the sun setting behind the Da-chao Statue. While this wasn't exactly Naruto's first time overlooking the village, he had never seen it at sunset before.

"This is what I wanted you to see." Yuffie said quietly.

"Okay, I have to admit…This one is actually pretty cool." Naruto replied softly.

The young girl nodded. "Yep. Out of everything, _this_ is my favorite spot in the village. And it is _my_ spot. No one else comes up here."

Naruto was surprised to hear that. Blinking, he looked at her. "…Then why did you bring me here? If this place is your secret, then don't you want it to stay secret?" Yuffie averted her eyes. "…Yuffie…?"

"…Did you mean what you said?" Yuffie asked quietly.

"What did I say?"

"Back when we ditched Mrs. Kagetsu, you said that I was your friend." Hesitantly, she met his eyes. "Did you mean that?"

Naruto was caught off guard by both the question _and_ the accompanying sense of nervousness and fear. Realizing what was happening, Naruto smiled at her. "Hey, you're the one that kept saying that I was your friend, so shouldn't you already know?"

Yuffie shuffled her foot. "Well, yeah, but…I was dragging you around all day to those lame spots and didn't give you a chance to say no. And I said you were my friend without even bothering to make sure you wanted to be…I didn't know if…"

"If I really wanted to be your friend." Naruto supplied, making her wince before nodding. The blond huffed. "Yuffie, I already said it once. _You're my friend_." Her eyes widened. "Trust me, if I didn't want to be your friend, then I would have left after the ant hill." He looked back to the village. "So don't worry about it. We're friends now, and that's not going to change." He stated.

" _ **Ugh. By the Sage, you are too soft sometimes!"**_ Naruto decided to ignore the comment.

"Why did you ask me that?"

Yuffie hesitated before speaking. "My dad is Godo Kisaragi, the leader of Wutai."

' _So I was right…'_

"Most of the time, the other kids I meet are either the children of nobles, like Mrs. Kagetsu and her son, or they are too scared to hang out with me." Yuffie continued. "And the one or two times whenever it _isn't_ like that, the other kids always decide that they don't want to hang out with me after a bit…"

Kurama scoffed. _**"No doubt because of how annoying you are."**_

' _Shut up, Kurama.'_ Naruto internally growled.

"But you didn't do that. Even though you spent the day doing what _I_ wanted and not getting the chance to do anything else, you stayed with me the entire time." She finished.

"So you thought I would be like the others?" Naruto asked. "You seriously thought that I would just decide that I didn't want to be your friend anymore?"

"…Yes…"

Naruto huffed. "Well, that's not happening." He said, making her blink. Seeing her surprise, Naruto grinned. "Sorry, but I'm not going anywhere, so get used to being my friend."

After a minute, Yuffie smiled. "Thanks…" She said. They spent some time in silence, but it was eventually broken by Yuffie. "It was actually this view that made me want to become a ninja." She sat down on the grass with her back against a tree, prompting Naruto to mimic her.

"It was?"

"Yeah. I found it a while ago, and I really liked it. From here, you can see everything." Yuffie told him.

Naruto smiled slightly, but it was tinged with sadness. "Yeah, this is a great place…" It _really_ reminded him of Konoha sometimes.

"Uh-huh…I love this village." She said. "I love the forest, I love the rivers, I love the nature, I love the people…"

"I understand…And this view lets you see them all."

"Yep." A determined glint flashed across her eyes. "And I want to help keep those bad guys from Shinra out of it. That's why I want to be a ninja. If I'm a ninja, then I can kick their butts!"

The blond's smile grew as a memory came to mind. "When a person has something important they want to protect, that is when they can truly become strong." He said. "Don't forget that."

Yuffie stared at him with wide eyes before a grin spread across her face. "I won't. My village is my home, and it everyone in it is important to me. So I'm going to be super strong! Strong enough to protect it!" She proclaimed, standing up as she did so.

Naruto chuckled. "If you fight for that reason, then I'm sure you will."

A thought came to Yuffie, making her grin slowly fade into a thoughtful frown. "Hey, Naruto…"

"Hm?"

"What are you fighting to protect?" She asked, much to his surprise.

"Huh?" He stared up at her.

Nodding, Yuffie sat back down. "You were good earlier when you were fighting that monster. Most kids our age can't aim at all, but you still managed to hit that thing. And then you went and _jumped on top of it_ without getting hurt!" She said in awe. "I mean, I could do the same thing, of course, but I didn't think that you could. So how did you do it? Why are you so strong? Does that mean you have something to protect, too?"

A rush of sadness coursed through Naruto. Turning back towards the village, he thought about what to say. "…I'm as strong as I am…because I wanted to protect the people who are important to me."

Yuffie tilted her head at this. "…Why did you say it like that?" She asked. "…Like that's not your reason anymore?"

Naruto's gaze turned downcast. "…None of them are around anymore." He whispered.

"Oh…" Yuffie bit her lip with a sad expression, but then she regained her determination. "What are you talking about? Stop being dumb." She demanded, prompting Naruto to stare at her in surprise.

"Wha-?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "You can't say that none of them are around anymore. I'm right here! Duh!" Yuffie grinned at him. "Aren't your friends important to you? Don't act like you don't even care!" The blond's jaw dropped slightly at her admonishment. Slowly, an unbidden laugh bubbled up inside his chest. Hearing the first signs of laughter, Yuffie glared at him. "Hey! Don't laugh at me!"

Naruto ignored her shout and continued to laugh until the last of it died down. Regaining control of himself, Naruto smiled at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. That just sounded like something _I_ would say."

"Hmph." Yuffie crossed her arms. "You still laughed…Jerk."

"Sorry, sorry." Naruto apologized. "…But thanks."

"Don't do it again…" Yuffie muttered. Regaining her smile, she spoke up. "But that's good! Now that you aren't being dumb, we can start getting stronger together!"

The blond tilted his head in thought with upturned lips. "Is this about that partner thing?"

"Yeah! We'll make an awesome team!" She said excitedly. "We'll be the best in Wutai!" Suddenly, she paused. "…If you want to, I mean…"

Naruto grinned at her. "Sure, why not? I'll be your partner." In his mind, he heard Kurama groan at the prospect of spending more time with her.

"Yes!" Yuffie cheered. "Great, then we can start training soon!"

"Sounds good, but there isn't enough time to get anything done today." Naruto reminded her.

"Ugh, I know! But we can still talk about it!" Yuffie told him. "Maybe we can go hunting monsters to learn how to work together?"

A little ways behind them, Naruto felt twin spikes of trepidation, no doubt from the two watchers they had. Deciding to cut this idea off before it got too far, Naruto spoke up. "I would rather make sure that we have a little practice actually working together before going anywhere dangerous, Yuffie." He said amusedly, noting that the trepidation lessened when he did so.

"Aw…But I guess that's fine…"

Naruto nodded. "Not to mention that it's not the greatest idea to go looking for danger without bringing more than a single shuriken. A cure materia would also be helpful, but you probably already have one if you're running around a forest with monsters on your own…" He enjoyed sensing the trepidation return, only this time, it was joined with fear.

Yuffie gave him a clueless look. "A what?"

He stared at with a deadpan expression.

She blinked back.

"…You don't know what a materia is?"

"Not a clue. Should I?"

"…Then you went into the forest _without_ anything more than a shuriken?"

"Yep."

Naruto groaned as Kurama burst into laughter. "…Okay, listen up. I'm going to explain what a materia is to you."

* * *

 **Streets of the Village (A little Later)**

"And you're serious?"

"Yes, Yuffie."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You aren't joking?"

"I'm not joking!"

"…"

"…"

"…Rea-?"

"Yes! _Really-ttebayo_!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm telling you the truth! How did you _not_ know about this?!"

Yuffie blushed. "Um, it sounds kinda familiar? I think someone tried telling me about it before? But they didn't explain it like you did…"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "How did they explain it?"

She offered him a shrug. "I dunno, something about freaky mind waves letting people use special balls to solve problems, or something."

The blond laughed. "That's not wrong, you know. It's like what I said."

"No it isn't! They made it sound boring! _You_ told me that materia lets people use magic and summon stuff!" Yuffie told him enthusiastically. "That sounds way better!" Her grin widened. "That sounds awesome…"

"Heh, it is pretty cool…" Naruto trailed off as a pair of men stepped into view in front of them. Glancing over the two, Naruto recognized the one on the left as the leader of the soldiers from the forest. Knowing what they were there for, Naruto came to a stop.

"Hey, why'd you stop walking?" Yuffie asked in confusion.

Naruto smiled at her. "I think it's time for you to go home." He said, nodding towards the men. Following his gesture, Yuffie slumped.

"Aw, man…"

The leader smiled at them. "My apologies, Lady Yuffie, but he is right. It's time to return now. Lord Godo has been waiting for you to return for some time now."

"Fine…" She said sadly. Yuffie took a couple of steps towards them, but then stopped.

"Lady Yuffie?"

Yuffie ignored him in favor of sending a nervous look Naruto's way. "…I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked hopefully.

Grinning, Naruto nodded. "Sure. I'll probably be around the area we met today. That spot doesn't normally have monster problems." Or at least, he usually took care of any monsters around there. He would just have to be especially sure that he got them all before she showed up.

Hearing him confirm it, Yuffie grinned ecstatically. "Great! See you then!" She said brightly before jogging down the street.

The two men traded amused glances and the leader motioned for the other to follow her. Nodding, the second man did as he was ordered. Once they were alone, the leader turned towards Naruto and scrutinized the apparent child. Not knowing what he wanted, Naruto stared back. A minute passed in silence, but it was eventually broken.

"…Thank you for spending time with Lady Yuffie." The man said.

Not expecting this, Naruto blinked. Once he registered what the man said, Naruto smiled. "No problem. I had fun." Overall, it actually was an enjoyable day. "We're friends now, so I like hanging out with her."

The corner of the man's lips twitched upwards. "Indeed. I think it's also safe to say that she had fun as well. She has morning lessons, so she should be able to meet you around noon, at the earliest." He paused. "Do you need an escort home? Where do you live?"

Naruto withheld a grimace at the question. Shrugging, he responded. "No, I'm fine. Thanks for the offer though. I don't live too far. It's actually pretty close to where I met Yuffie."

"Is that so…" The man scanned Naruto again. "I don't believe that I have seen you around the village. What did you say your name was, again?"

"…Naruto."

"Naruto…?"

That grimace was getting harder and harder to hold back. "…Naruto Uzumaki…" He had already told Yuffie his last name, so he couldn't exactly tell the man something else. On top of that, what else would he use? No one in this world knew of the Uzumaki clan, and the same would go for the Namikaze name. The only other options were to either make up a name or use someone else's.

"I don't think I know of anyone with that family name in the village." The man said lightly. "What is your father's name?"

Naruto glared at him. "It isn't my father's surname. And I'd rather not talk about this."

The man nodded. "Forgive me, I have overstepped my boundaries. I'll let you be on your way."

"..." Naruto nodded.

"Thanks for being her friend." The man smiled. After a moment, Naruto returned the smile with a small one of his own before the two parted ways.

* * *

 **Kisaragi Dining Room**

For the first time all day, Godo Kisaragi allowed himself to relax. After a tiring day of war meetings, planning, issuing orders, politics, allocating resources, and worrying about his people in general, the leader of Wutai could finally let himself unwind from the day.

Sure the war was still going and his problems hadn't gone away, but they had _thankfully_ subsided for the time being. There was a surprising lack of battles being fought elsewhere in the country and there weren't any annoying nobles knocking on his door and requesting that he find a way to support them with their latest idea.

Feh, as if he didn't have more important things to think about than creating a law that would specifically help the Kagetsu family make more money.

If you asked him, their tea wasn't that good anyways.

No, none of those things were demanding his attention. It was only him, a couple of guards, his wife, and his daughter. His family was all here, eating a slightly late dinner.

And apparently going through a retelling of Yuffie's day with her new friend.

Kasumi smiled brightly as she listened to their daughter tell them about her friend. His wife's health has been a great concern for Godo recently, but seeing her with such an expression made him feel better.

"And then Naruto went and asked me if _that was all I wanted him to see_! He was such a jerkface about it with that stupid grin!" Although she was ranting about it, the wide smile on Yuffie's face deterred any thoughts that she was mad. On the contrary, Godo knew that Yuffie was happy that she found someone that wasn't afraid of teasing her. "Can you believe that?!"

The girl's mother laughed that musical laugh that always managed to melt Godo's heart. "Well, you have to admit that you made it sound more exciting than it was."

"Mom! You're supposed to agree with me!" Yuffie whined. That only served to make Kasumi laugh again. "Fine, be like that…Anyways, we agreed to be ninja partners together! And to meet up again tomorrow." She sent her parents a pleading look. "That's okay, right?"

Kasumi nodded. "I have no problem with it, as long as you finish your lessons first. I'm happy that you've made a friend like that." She glanced towards her husbanded. "And you, dear?" She asked, although she already knew what he was going to say.

As she expected, Godo smiled. "I agree with your mother. I don't see a problem with you having fun with him tomorrow."

"Yes! Thank you!" Yuffie cheered.

"However…" Godo continued, making Yuffie freeze in place. "That's tomorrow. We still have to discuss your punishment for today."

Yuffie's jaw dropped. "Wha…?"

Godo allowed a small smirk to form on his face. "For not only sneaking out without telling anyone, but for also running into the forest without an escort and then running around the village today after being told to return…" Yuffie's eyes widened at the reminder, making Kasumi giggle behind a hand and Godo's smirk widen. "…You are to go to bed early tonight so that you're not too tired tomorrow." Yuffie sighed in relief. "…With no dessert."

"Wha-But _dad_!" Tonight was the night when they were going to have cake!

"No buts, young lady." Godo's smirk grew again. "In fact, you're going to bed right now."

"Huh?!"

The lord of Wutai quirked an eyebrow. "Do you wish to make it so that you are forbidden from having dessert for a week? I had thought that you wanted some ice cream tomorrow night…"

"I'm going! I'm going!" Yuffie yelped before scrambling towards the door. "Goodnight!"

"Goodnight."

Kasumi was only able to wait until after Godo had motioned for the remaining guards to leave the room before she broke into laughter again. "Oh, why do you tease her like that?"

Godo shrugged and stood up. "It's fun."

Giggling, Kasumi walked over to her husband and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Well, it isn't like I'm one to talk…" She also had fun teasing Yuffie. With all of her energy, their daughter just gave the best reactions. "…And by the sound of it, her new friend likes to tease her as well."

The reminder of this new boy dampened Godo's mood slightly. "Hm…"

Spotting the look on his face, Kasumi's mood also changed. "…Are you worried about him?"

Sighing, Godo nodded. "I would be lying if I said that I wasn't."

"But he is just a boy."

"We both know that him being _just a boy_ doesn't mean that he is completely safe to be around."

"…I know…"

Seeing her bite her lip, Godo pulled her into a hug. "But who knows? I could be paranoid. You know how us old ninjas get when we get up in years…" This attempt to cheer her up brought about a weak giggle. Noticing someone step into the room, Godo motioned for him to come closer. "Why don't we hear more about him now?"

The imperial guard with a x-shaped scar walked towards them before kneeling. "Lord Kisaragi. Lady Kisaragi." He greeted.

Godo waved away the formalities. "Relax, I don't feel like going through the formalities right now. Stand up and take off your helmet." The soldier hesitated for only a moment before complying. Standing up, he removed his helmet and freed his long red hair, allowing his long bangs to frame his face. "Now tell us what you have learned about the boy, Kenshin."

The guard, Kenshin, nodded. "Based on observations of both his interactions with Lady Yuffie as well as the what he said today, he sounds like an extremely mature and kind boy for his age. At no point did he display any indication of hostile intent."

The lord of Wutai nodded. "Good. I would hate for Yuffie's new friend to show any sign of ill intent. Be sure to keep an eye out for that though…What do you mean by extremely mature for his age?"

Kenshin smiled. "The Crescent Unit following them reported that he and Lady Yuffie ended the day by going to that hilltop that Lady Yuffie likes. Once there, Lady Yuffie brought up the topic of why she wanted to become a ninja. According to her, she wishes to do so because she loves the village, so she wants to protect it."

Both of Yuffie's parents beamed in pride and joy at their daughter's words. Bellowing a loud laugh, Godo nodded. "Wonderful!"

Kasumi nodded as well. "It is nice to hear that…" She blinked. "But what does that have to do with her friend?"

Kenshin's smile grew. "His reply to this was, 'When a person has something important they want to protect, that is when they can truly become strong'." Both Godo and his wife's eyes widened. "It is truly something else for such a young boy to say something like that."

Godo's smile softened. "Indeed…Anything else? Background information?"

"My men and I asked around, but we were unable to find anyone that knew the boy. Given his blond hair, blue eyes, and facial features, it would be harder to forget him, so I'm led to believe that he truly isn't known by anyone." He informed.

Kasumi frowned in worry. "No one? Not a single person?" The redhead shook his head. "What about his family? His parents?"

"I believe he lives alone. I asked him about his family name, Uzumaki…According to him, it isn't his father's surname. And he showed agitation upon the subject being brought up." Kenshin reported. "Given his response, the most likely conclusion would be…"

"A bastard child between a woman from Wutai and a man from Shinra." Godo finished darkly. While he wasn't against his people finding love with people from outside of the country, the harsh reality was that not all conceptions were voluntary. And even if it was voluntary, the mother may have been ashamed to carry the child of the enemy. Following this line of thought, the child getting abandoned was a very real possibility.

Kenshin sighed. "Indeed…For all we know, Uzumaki may be a name he made for himself. I don't recognize it at all, so it could be."

Kasumi's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "You said he was living alone? Where? Does he have an apartment somewhere and he simply does not interact with people?"

The imperial guard shook his head sadly. "No…With the discovery of the boy, it actually gives a somewhat logical conclusion to something that has been bothering me lately. Over the past month, there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of monsters in the forest to the east."

Godo blinked. "You think this boy is the cause of it?"

Kenshin nodded with a small smile. "He has already proven capable of defeated a monster alone while protecting Lady Yuffie, so why not some others? He has stated that he trains in the forest, and you can't spend too much time in there without at least coming across a couple of monsters…"

"Wait, so he is living alone in the forest?" Kasumi clarified, a steely glint entering her eyes, making the two men nervous.

Swallowing, Kenshin hesitantly spoke up. "I…I believe so, yes. He could be hunting to survive while out there."

Hearing this, Kasumi's demeanor turned frigid. "Thank you, Kenshin. Was there anything else you wanted to report?" He shook his head. "Okay, then we wish you goodnight. If you would please excuse us, I would like to have a private word with my husband…"

"O-Of course. Goodnight, Lord Godo. L-Lady Kasumi." Bowing, he hastily left the room.

Once he was gone, Kasumi whirled around to face her husband. " _Dear…_ "

Pushing down the instinct to move away, Godo shook his head. "Kasumi…I know what you're thinking, but we shouldn't do it."

"And why _not_?" The maternal anger in her eyes was nearly glowing.

"Because we don't even know the boy." Godo reasoned. "Yuffie only met him today, and there is still the possibility that he is a spy. It would be extremely foolish to bring a possible danger into our home." Kasumi paused at this, knowing he had a point. Sighing, Godo continued. "Listen…Based on what we've heard, it is likely that this boy is simply unfortunate, and he will be good for Yuffie. But I would still prefer to wait a little longer before we try anything."

"But we should still do _something..._ "

"He sounds mature and he is doing fine on his own, how do you think he would react to some strangers suddenly saying that they would like for him to live with them? Even if they are the parents of his new friend?" His wife completely deflated at that, prompting him to kiss her forehead. "Give it some time. If things continue in a good light, then we can make the offer."

Kasumi was quiet for several moments. "…Very well…"

Godo smiled at her and pulled her into a gentle embrace.

* * *

 **The Forest Clearing (The Next Day)**

" _ **I still don't get why you agreed to it."**_

Naruto rolled his eyes at Kurama's whining. "Because there isn't any harm to being her friend." He replied while going through his katas.

" _ **It harms my sanity!"**_

"Which was arguably damaged anyways…"

" _ **Screw you!"**_

The blond smirked at that. "Seriously, Kurama. She wanted a friend, so I'll be that friend. It's not like it will get in the way of my training…too much." He just wouldn't be able to train with his new chakra while she was around. Coordination and weapons? He could still do that.

" _ **Ugh, you are too freaking nice…"**_

"I'm making up for all the asshole things you've done."

"… _ **You're gonna be at that for a**_ **while** _ **…"**_ Kurama muttered before he paused when the sound of movement reached them. _**"Oh, great. Here we go…"**_

"Naruto!" Naruto smiled and stood up from his stance as a grinning Yuffie entered the clearing.

The blond waved at her. "Hey, Yuffie. How're you doin-Whoa!" Naruto yelped as his friend grabbed his wrist and immediately began to tug him in the direction of the village. "Wait, what're you doing?!"

"Come on, hurry up!"

"Hurry to where?!"

Yuffie looked back at him with excitement dancing in her eyes. "We're going to go hunting!"

Naruto blinked as he was pulled along. "Hunting for what?"

"Materia, of course!"

"Huh?"

She nodded. "Yeah! If materia are as great as you say they are, then we should find some!" Yuffie declared. "If we get a bunch, then we'll be even more awesome than we already are! And here I thought I couldn't get any more awesome!"

"But you don't even know where to look!"

"That's why we're gonna go _hunting_!" Yuffie giggled in her excitement. "Oh, I wanna get a fire one, and an ice one…Oh, and a healing one would be cool! And didn't you say that there were some that makes you stronger?!" She gasped. "Oh, what about a _summon_ materia?!" She laughed and pulled him harder. "I wanna get one of every type! I'll become Wutai's best materia user along with its best ninja!" Naruto could only gape at her enthusiasm.

"… _ **For the record, I totally called it. She**_ **does** _ **have an addiction problem. Who would have thought materia would be her equivalent of ramen?"**_

' _Shut up, Kurama…'_

* * *

 **There we go! All done with Chapter 3!**

 **Can someone give me a second opinion on something? Monsters fade into the Lifestream too, right? Or should I not have that happen? I feel like I'm getting conflicting information…**

 **Anyone recognize Kenshin?**

* * *

 **Review Responses!**

 **Kairitrion Cerulean: You seriously think that someone like Yuffie wouldn't sneak out when she felt like it?** **Yuffie is actually twelve when she is seen in Before Crisis. Chronologically, the earliest she is seen is in Crisis Core when she meets Zack. She's eight at that point. And AVALANCHE was formed in the canyon, but it was based in Wutai.**

 **KaiserUltima: That's probably -definitely- it, but it still irritates me that something called ultimate isn't the last or strongest.**

 **Qrious writ3r: More like most conversations.**

 **Cuina: Thanks! And I definitely enjoy writing Kurama. As for him interacting with others, I'll only admit to putting some thought into it.**

 **Guest 1: Eventually, yeah. But not yet. In my opinion, you don't have to be super strong to be an effective WEAPON. Just know what to do and get the job done. Naruto can blend in easier than other WEAPONs, which already makes him better for getting information. When they don't know where the target is, the other WEPONs just rampage, which doesn't help anyone.**

 **Guest 2: So he isn't a total dumbass like in pre-Shippuden, that's the point of using post-Kaguya. Not to mention how I wanted him and Kurama to already be friends/partners. Relax, he'll get stronger.**

* * *

 **Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kog6943**


	4. Chapter 4

**And we're back!**

 **Holy crap, a month passed faster than I expected…This chapter was started a while ago, but I've been making slow progress on it.**

 **Don't worry, I now know the difference between "desert" and "dessert"! One of them has an extra "s" in it!**

 **I decided I didn't want to deal with it (As in writing it and the inevitable complaining), so until further notice, there is no pairing.**

* * *

 **Anyways, on with the story!**

 **I don't own Naruto, Final Fantasy VII, or anything else. I'm just a broke college student…**

* * *

Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Normal Thinking: _'Insert witty remark here.'_

Bijū/Deity Talking in Naruto's Head: _**"Insert witty remark here."**_

Bijū/Deity Thinking in Naruto's Head: **'Insert witty remark here.'**

Scene Change: **Insert Place Here**

Jutsu/Technique: **Insert Jutsu Here**

* * *

 **Streets of Wutai (Two Months Later)**

"Okay, so we didn't find anything."

"Again."

"But we were closer!"

"I don't think we were."

"Plus, we got an adventure out of it!"

"All we did was explore the shopping district...We did that two weeks ago."

"And that makes today a success in my book!"

"But we didn't accomplish the goal."

"And you know what?"

"No, but I think I've spent enough time around you by now to know that you will tell me."

"We'll find one tomorrow. I'm sure of it!"

"You don't know that."

"It's only a matter of time!"

"It doesn't matter how much time we spend if there's nothing there to find."

"So don't lose faith."

"I didn't think this was going to work from the start, so no worries. I don't have any less faith from earlier."

"I'll lead us through this!"

"I can say anything I want right now, and you wouldn't even notice, would you?"

"That's the spirit!"

Naruto shook his head with an exasperated smile as he and Yuffie walked down the village streets after yet _another_ materia hunt. One that yielded no results, just like all the other ones before it.

Two months had gone by since Naruto met the hyperactive girl, and he had yet to go two days in a row without Yuffie showing up and pulling him into whatever activity she had decided that they would do for the day. Many days, Yuffie declared that they would search for materia, but they had yet to find anything. Although that wasn't a surprise, given where they were searching most of the time.

Naruto _still_ didn't understand why Yuffie was _positive_ that they would find something in the backyards of some villagers.

But despite the often ridiculous ideas for search areas that Yuffie came up with, even he had to admit that it was slightly strange that they hadn't found a single materia yet. Based on what he knew, it actually wasn't that uncommon to find a materia in the occasional odd location for whatever reason. Materia sometimes got picked up and moved by animals, only to wind up in a bird's nest or something...Which they have _definitely_ searched before.

The blond had made more than one bird angry as a result.

However, regardless of that, they had yet to actually find a materia. In fact, Naruto was beginning to suspect that Yuffie's invisible guards were the reason for that. The guards must have been ordered to move ahead of them and do a quick search for any possible materia, and then remove them before Yuffie could get her hands on them.

Admittedly, Naruto could see where they were coming from.

Yuffie was still only six, and he appeared to not be much older than that. So it would be stupid to let them get a materia -an item that can be used as a legitimate weapon- without any training or obvious supervision.

So in the end, most of their materia searches turned into a day of scouring whatever random location Yuffie pointed at before she eventually called it quits. Naruto had to give her credit though, she had yet to give up on finding a materia.

Other days, Yuffie would come to him and decide that they would spend the day training in the clearing where they had met. That was another thing that Naruto was impressed with when it came to Yuffie.

She wasn't prodigious, but she was definitely relatively skilled for her age. Her biggest problem was not lashing out too quickly and ending up with throwing whatever she could at her opponent-in other words, at him.

To Naruto's irritation, Kurama had claimed that was yet another thing she had in common with the blond, more so when he was younger.

When they had sparred for the first time, Naruto had held back of course, but he still found it incredibly simple to subdue the girl. When she had gotten back up with a scowl and demanded a rematch, Yuffie glared -pouted- at him for several minutes before grinning like mad and declaring that it only made sense for her partner to be incredibly skilled.

It took a lot of restraint for Naruto to not mention that Yuffie had previously said that he wasn't on her level yet.

Naruto helped her where he could, frequently advising her to better protect an unguarded part of her body or to not rush in too quickly. When it came to hand to hand combat, Naruto noticed that she had the beginnings of some unfamiliar style, so he wouldn't be able to help her much there. Instead, he spent much of time training with her using kunai and shuriken, along with giving her actual experience against an opponent that wasn't a training dummy.

The blond never fully showed how skilled he was, both for the reason of not wanting to show Yuffie everything and because both he and Kurama knew that there were always people watching them.

Given who she was, the fact that they were at war, and that Naruto could still be a potential spy, it only made sense for Godo to not leave Yuffie unsupervised with Naruto. The blond ignored the out of sight watchers, deciding that if they didn't bother him, he wouldn't bother them. Although he wasn't sure if Yuffie knew they were there or not.

However, instead of the invisible guards every day, there were occasional days when the imperial guard with the x-shaped scar would come and watch. On those days, the other guards never watched from the shadows, so Naruto supposed that whoever the captain was, he was skilled and trusted enough to watch over Yuffie on his own.

When that happened, the man would simply stand off to the side in a spot that was out of the way and observe neutrally, as opposed to hiding out of sight. He never said much, opting to do no more than greet the him upon arriving with Yuffie and then saying farewell when it got late, but there were still times when Naruto could feel his gaze on the back of his head.

Overall, Naruto had been enjoying the time he spent with Yuffie, finding her company relaxing and as a chance to have some fun. Although whenever Kurama spoke about it, he sounded as though it was torture. But Naruto knew that the giant fox was starting to get used to the girl.

...At least he was vaguely sure.

As for Naruto's personal training, he had yet to make any grand breakthroughs with his new chakra, much to Kurama's amusement, but he was getting closer.

The last time he tried, he managed to reduce the expulsion of smoke down to that of a sealing scroll, so that's a plus!

Pulling himself back to the present, Naruto saw that Yuffie still had yet to notice that he hadn't been listening to her as she talked. ' _Huh...I probably still have another couple of minutes.'_ He estimated.

"Hello, Yuffie!" A shopkeeper called as they passed. "And the same to you, Naruto! Finished with another day of playing?" Yuffie grinned and waved to the man, Naruto nodding in greeting with a smile next to her.

Thankfully, having spent two months being tugged around by Yuffie and interacting with them, most of the villagers had grown accustomed to seeing him. It had become common knowledge that wherever one of them was, the other most likely was somewhere nearby as well. Naruto knew that many of them were still a little curious about him, but they no longer sent suspicious and wary glances his way. In fact, even the guards were slowly starting to let up around him. Whenever they were on their way back from whatever they did for the day, Naruto would the ones that followed them giving him and Yuffie some space. And if they were close to her home or in a crowded area, then they would leave entirely.

"We weren't playing! We were _hunting!_ " Yuffie insisted, making the man laugh.

"Of course, of course. My mistake." He replied. "Any luck today?"

Yuffie pouted. "Ugh, no. We still didn't find anything!"

The shopkeeper nodded, obviously amused by the girl. "Well, be sure to keep at it. I'm sure you'll find something eventually. Finding materia can be hard work."

Hearing this, a thoughtful look formed on Yuffie's face, drawing Naruto's attention. "What's wrong?"

Shaking her head, Yuffie spoke up. "We keep searching for materia, but we still haven't found one. I _know_ we eventually will, but I wanna hurry up and do it! I'm super excited about it!" She blinked. "Are we doing something wrong? Is that why we haven't found one?"

The blond chuckled. "I've been telling you for a while now that a lot of the places you want us to look in aren't the right kind of spots."

She blinked at him. "Huh? You haven't told me that." Naruto rolled his eyes. A grin formed on Yuffie's face. "So? Where do we need to look?" The blond was about to answer, but a sudden wave of apprehension on his senses caught his attention.

' _This is…'_

From his mind, he heard Kurama growl. _**"It's the fleshbag manning the stall."**_ The bijū said. _**"He's about to pull something."**_

The man laughed, but Naruto was able to pick up how tense it was compared to the previous one. "To find a natural materia, the best place to look are around mako springs. Materia is crystallized mako, so that only makes sense." He explained. "Besides that, materia can be found in cave systems. Off the top of my head, those are the two best spots to look for natural materia. If you don't want to look, you can just buy some at a store. A lot of stores sell some kind of materia."

"Oh...Then not in a park?" Yuffie asked.

"Only if someone or something else moved it there, which is possible." Naruto answered, still keeping an eye on the man.

Yuffie slowly nodded. "Okay...Is there a good place near here we can check?" Her eyes shone in excitement. "Naruto! We should totally do that tomorrow!" Suddenly, the man's apprehension spiked, this time mixed with some malice. Unseen by the man or Yuffie, Naruto began to prepare himself to either attack or defend as needed.

"Hm…" The man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, some buddies of mine who run shops that sell materia sometimes tell me about where they get the stuff. Apparently, not all of it is shipped in. In fact, they sometimes go out to find some themselves."

It was at that point that Naruto's eyes widened slightly, getting an idea of what the man was about to attempt. "Really?!" Yuffie gasped. "Where?! You have to tell us!"

"Hold on Yuffie." Naruto interjected, ignoring the wave of irritation that the man sent his way. "If there is a place like that, then it is probably outside of the village. In case you've forgotten, leaving it is a bad idea." He reminded her. _'Damn it. There aren't any guards nearby…'_

Instead of listening, Yuffie waved him off. "Psh. Let's at least hear about it, Naruto! This could be just the thing we need!" She turned back to the shopkeeper, nearly bouncing up and down in her excitement. "Now come on! Where can we find materia?!"

The man grinned widely at her as Naruto glared at him. "According to my friends, there's this cave just outside of the village that has a small pool of mako. It's a good spot to go to find new natural materia every once in a while. They were planning on making another trip in about a week or two, so the cave probably has _something_ there about now. They will get it then." The more the man spoke, the more Naruto felt his apprehension fade away and turn into malice and greed.

"Not if we get it first!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Where is the cave?!"

"Yuffie, we _can't_ go there." Naruto hissed, but was ignored again.

"You know the waterfall that feeds into the village's river system?" An eager nod. "They told me that the cave is behind it, hidden by the falls. It's pretty easy to get to." Deciding that enough was enough, Naruto grabbed Yuffie by the hand and began to drag her away.

Yuffie blinked at the sudden move. "Huh? Hey, wait!"

"Yeah, thanks! We'll think about checking it out!" He called back to the man.

"Naruto! I wasn't done talking!" Yuffie said.

"Yes, you were." Naruto replied forcefully.

" _ **You should just kill the fool and be done with it!"**_ Kurama snarled.

' _For what? He didn't do anything illegal!'_ Naruto said angrily. _'There's nothing illegal about talking to kids or sharing apparent rumors.'_

" _ **We both know what he was trying to do!"**_

' _But we can't prove it!'_

Naruto was pulled out of the conversation when Yuffie freed herself from his grip. Turning to face him, she glared. "What's the big deal? That was some good info!"

The blond shook his head. "Yuffie, I know what you're thinking, but going there is a bad idea. Like I said, leaving the village boundaries is out of the question. _Especially_ to go explore some cave!"

"We wouldn't be going far!" Yuffie protested. "We could go there and be back super quick!"

"Or, something could go wrong 'super quick'!"

Huffing, Yuffie turned away and crossed her arms. "You're my partner. It's your duty to support my decisions!"

"Being your partner also means that I need to tell you when something is a bad idea." Naruto retorted. "And what you want to do is a bad idea!" She opened her mouth again, but Naruto didn't give her the chance to say anything. "Yuffie, please. Let's not go to that cave. I have a bad feeling about it. If you really want to go, then let's get some guards to come with us."

Yuffie glanced over her shoulder at him and stared for a moment. Eventually, she nodded with a grin. "Okay then! We won't go to the cave tomorrow!" She agreed.

Hearing this, Naruto quirked an eyebrow at her with a small frown. "...So you agree that we're not going there?" He asked warily.

"Yep!"

"Just like that?"

"You got it!"

 _ **"Bullshit/**_ _Bullshit.'_ Naruto and Kurama said together. There's no way that she would completely give up on the idea that easily.

The young girl's grin widened. "Okay! I'm calling it a day for now, Naruto!" She declared. "Starting tomorrow, we're going to continue the search!"

"Wait, hold on. Yuffie, we-" Naruto began.

"Great! See you tomorrow!" Cutting him off like she normally did, Yuffie whirled around and sped down the street, heading back home.

For several long seconds, Naruto didn't do anything but stand there and stare after her. Eventually, he sighed with an amused smile. "...Never mind then." He would just talk her out of it when she came to find him tomorrow.

* * *

 **The Forest Clearing (The Next Day)**

"She's late…" Naruto muttered, glancing at the sky to check the position of the sun again. It was the next day, and he was sitting on a branch in the single tree in the clearing.

 _ **"** **She is."**_ Kurama agreed. _**"And you stating that every other minute isn't going to miraculously make her show up."**_

Naruto frowned. "But she is never this late. And if she was going to not show up today, then a guard would have come and told me."

 **"** _ **Or maybe the brat's lessons are taking longer than they should today?"**_ Kurama offered. _**"Whatever the case, it is no reason for you to prevent me from sleeping."**_

Feeling increasingly worried, Naruto hopped down to the ground. "I'm going to check on her." He decided, getting Kurama to release a groan of irritation.

 **"** _ **Why? There is every chance that she is simply running late!"**_

"There's _also_ a chance that something happened." Naruto shot back. "If I'm being paranoid, then big deal. I'll just sit around and wait for her to finish whatever it is that she's doing." He said as he left the clearing.

Soon, Naruto had made it into the village and was dashing through the streets. He noticed multiple people send surprised looks his way, but he ignored them all, opting to focus on weaving through the crowds. After a few minutes, he spotted his destination up ahead.

Out of all the homes in the village, it was obvious which one belonged to the Kisaragi family. After all, not only was it the largest, but it was also the only one with both a wall surrounding it _and_ guards stationed around the clock. To top it off, in comparison to the other homes, it was the size of a mansion.

Suddenly feeling slightly nervous, Naruto ran towards the gate, where two guards stood at attention. This was actually the first time Naruto had ever gotten close the home, so he wasn't sure how this was going to go.

It was obvious when the guards spotted him due to the sudden tensing of their shoulders and both of their heads tracking his approach. Once he was a few feet away, the guard on the left called out to him. "Stop. You are coming upon the private property of the Kisaragi family. Identify yourself and state your business."

Naruto offered them a hesitant smile. "Hi, my name is Naruto! I'm Yuffie's friend. She didn't show up today like she usually did, so I came to see why."

The guard who had spoken frowned slightly. "Naruto…?" He repeated before looking him over again before glancing to his partner. "Isn't that the name of…?" He muttered.

The other guard nodded slowly. "I think it is…" He raised his voice. "We know who you are, but Lady Yuffie did not express that she was expecting any visitors."

"Like I said, she didn't come meet me today, so I came here instead." Naruto repeated. "...So can I…?" He gestured towards the gate, but he frowned when they shook their heads.

"Unless expressly stated that you have permission to enter, we cannot allow you through." The first guard said, making Naruto groan.

"Fine, but then can you check to see how much longer she will be?" He asked. "Or pass a message that I'm out here waiting for her?"

"It's fine, I can answer him." The sudden inclusion of a new voice prompted all eyes to snap to the gate, where the guard with the x-shaped scar was standing.

Seeing him, both of the gate guards snapped salutes. "Sir!" They greeted as the captain opened the gate and stepped through.

The man nodded to them before giving Naruto a small smile. "Lady Yuffie finished her lessons about an hour ago. After that, she retired to her room. She said that she informed you yesterday that the two of you wouldn't meet up today."

A pool of dread was beginning to form in Naruto's stomach. "We never decided that. She told me that she would meet up with me today like usual." _'She didn't…'_

 **"** _ **I think she did…"**_

Hearing this, the captain's smile slowly slipped into a frown. "But that's…" He stiffened and whirled around. "Follow me, Naruto." He ordered.

Naruto scrambled to follow the man as he walked briskly towards the home. Because of their difference in size, Naruto was forced to a light jog as the man quickly made his way to wherever they were going. "Lady Yuffie didn't tell you that she wouldn't be meeting you, today?" The man captain asked, getting a shake of the head.

"No, she didn't." Naruto said. "She told me that she would meet me today." He glanced up at the man. "…She told you that we agreed not to meet?" As they walked, Naruto looked around, taking in their surroundings. They had passed several guards and other personnel through the halls, but after seeing the captain's frown, all of them stepped out of the way, although most of them sent curious eyes Naruto's way.

The captain nodded with a frown. "Yes, she did. She said that you two were taking a break today." He turned down another hall. "Because of that, no guard was sent to inform you. We thought you knew that." Finally, they came to a stop in front of a pair of sliding doors. Knocking on them, the captain spoke up. "Lady Yuffie? I need to speak with you." They waited in silence for several moments. "Lady Yuffie, it's Kenshin. Please open the door."

 **"** _ **She's not in there."**_ Kurama determined.

Still not getting a response, Kenshin's frown deepened. "Lady Yuffie, I'm coming in." With that, he grasped the doors and pulled them apart. "Damn…" He muttered, walking into the room.

From his spot next to Kenshin, Naruto scanned the bedroom. "Seriously, Yuffie? I told you not to go." He said under his breath.

Suddenly, Kenshin's attention snapped to the blond. "Naruto, what do you know about this? Where did she go?"

Naruto blinked. "…Wait, you're _not_ suspecting me of anything?"

Kenshin momentarily smiled at him. "No, I'm not. I think I've seen enough of you to understand that you don't mean any harm. You're a good kid, and most of the people in the village know that by now." His smile faded away. "But back to the matter at hand, please tell me what you can."

Nodding, Naruto spoke up. "After another failed search yesterday, Yuffie and I were called out to by a shopkeeper in the village. When we told him that we haven't been having any luck, he suddenly got tense. He then told us about this one cave behind the waterfall that leads into the village's rivers. According to him, there's a good chance to find some materia there. I kept trying to talk Yuffie into leaving the information, but she wouldn't listen. It got to the point that I had to drag her away." He paused and locked eyes with Kenshin. "…I think that man _wanted_ Yuffie to leave the village and go to the cave. He got mad when I tried to convince Yuffie it was a bad idea."

The more he heard, the more Kenshin's frown became more prominent, until he was outright scowling. When Naruto finished, he walked to the still open door. "Guards!" He barked, and Naruto was somewhat impressed by how quickly a pair of guards showed up. Kenshin pointed to one of them. "Gather a team and prepare to move out! We're heading out of the village into a possible combat and rescue scenario! You have ten minutes to meet me at the gate!" The man nodded before dashing off. Moving to the next, Kenshin continued. "You will be informing Lord Godo of the situation and then lead a team to find the man responsible." He gestured for Naruto to step forward. "Naruto will tell you who it was and then you will do so."

"Yes, sir!"

"Good." Kenshin turned back to Naruto with a small smile, but it was strained. "I apologize for this, Naruto, but I'm afraid this is where we part ways. Please tell him what you told me." He nodded and turned to leave.

Before he could take more than a step, Naruto stopped him. "Wait, I'm coming too!" He declared.

Hearing this, Kenshin immediately shook his head. "No, you're not. It's too dangerous. You've already done wonderfully simply by acting when you felt something was wrong. Leave the rest to us."

"But-"

"That's final." Kenshin cut him off. Not giving him a chance to speak any further, the captain left the room, Naruto glaring after him.

After Kenshin left, the remaining guard spoke. "The captain is right, kid. This isn't the time for playing ninja. Please tell me what you know."

Naruto scowled. _'Playing ninja? Who the hell is playing?!'_ Attempting to pull in his anger, Naruto quickly told the guard what he knew, down to the time of day and where the shopkeeper was. As he spoke, Naruto became increasingly agitated by the fact that he was standing around while Yuffie could be in trouble. Once he had gotten what he wanted, the guard thanked Naruto and swiftly left to complete the rest of his orders.

 **"** _ **You're not seriously going to sit around and wait for them to take care of it, are you?"**_ Kurama asked resignedly, but Naruto noted the lack of disapproval in his tone.

' _Hell no!'_ Naruto answered and walked out of the room and made his way toward the exit. _'A friend of mine is in danger. There's no_ way _I'm going to sit around and do nothing.'_ Naruto declared. _'Yuffie already has an hour head start. The guards should be moving out soon, but we don't know how long it will take them to get there. If I leave now, I might beat them there, and every second could count.'_

Kurama snorted. _**"Remember, you don't know what you're up against. And you're still in a weakened state."**_

Instead of becoming more worried, Naruto actually _smirked_. _'Heh, that just means it will be even better when I kick some ass.'_

 _ **"** **Ha! True enough!"**_ Kurama growled in anticipation as Naruto finally exited the property. _**"Very well. If this needs to be done, then we might as well show our superiority. No mercy!"**_

' _Glad to have your support.'_ With that, Naruto sprinted down the street, shocking the nearby people with his speed.

* * *

 **Falls of the Leviathan (A Little Later)**

Naruto came to a stop behind a boulder near the falls, successfully staying out of immediate sight. Silencing his movements, he slowly peeked his head out and scanned the area. For a small moment, he allowed himself to be impressed by the sheer _size_ of the falls. Up ahead of him was a wall of rock that was nearly as stall as the Hokage and spanned the length of it, but every inch of the wall as submerged by roaring water that pooled into a reservoir at the bottom. Finding the spot had been easy, for all he needed to do was follow the river upstream until he found the source.

Not seeing anyone, he dashed out and ran along the bank until he came upon the wall of rock. Because of how big the waterfall was and the speed that the water was shooting over the edge, there was a sizable gap between the falling water and the parallel cliff. Naruto blinked when he noticed that there was also a small path that went behind the waterfall.

"The jackass did say that the cave was hidden by the waterfall…" He muttered as he began to walk. It took a minute of walking in silence, but the rock wall soon indented in on itself until it formed a wide gap that led deeper in. Frowning, Naruto peered into the cave, noting how it sloped downwards, leading deeper into the ground. "This must be it…" Suddenly, his eyes came to a stop upon an object laying on the damp ground ahead of him. Eyes widening, Naruto ran up to the item and kneeled down to pick it up. Now that he was holding it, he confirmed his suspicions and scowled down at it.

Clutched in his hand was Yuffie's headband.

"Yuffie…" He growled, worry and anger warring within him. She went anywhere without this thing, always opting to wear it.

 **"** _ **Calm down."**_ Kurama ordered. _**"This simply means that she really did come here, nothing more. Don't jump to conclusions."**_

Naruto took a deep breath and pocketed the headband. _'Right.'_ Not seeing anything else around him, Naruto continued deeper into the cave, making sure to move as quietly as he could as he went.

 **"** _ **Pay attention to your surroundings."**_ Kurama growled.

' _I know.'_ As he moved through the twisting tunnel, Naruto's eyes scanned every part of the tunnel, not wanting to miss anything. A minute later, he was glad that he was paying so much attention to his surroundings, otherwise he would have missed the abrupt way that the path sloped down. Taking a moment to assess the path, he stepped forward and slid down the slant, balancing himself so he could do so while standing. _'How deep do you think this thing goes?'_ He asked.

 **"** _ **No clue."**_ The bijū responded. _**"Probably a good ways."**_ Naruto hummed in agreement as he came to a stop at the bottom of the slope. Glancing around showed him that he had entered a cavern, but he frowned when he saw that there were multiple diverging caves spread throughout the area, each heading in different directions. The entire area was surprisingly well lit due to the occasional glowing crystal protruding from random surfaces. _**"And if what we're seeing is any indication, then it may be harder than we thought to find them."**_

' _Damn. It's times like this that I'm_ really _hating my crappy chakra control.'_ Naruto sighed. One of the biggest losses was that Naruto couldn't simply spam clones to make the search easier, like he did back when he was swallowed by the Isobu. Now, Naruto could barely make fifty clones, and that was _with_ Kurama's help!

" _ **Stop complaining. Even ten clones will be more than enough."**_ Kurama huffed. _**"Now hurry up and make the seal. The sooner we find them, the sooner we can get out of here."**_

' _Fair enough…'_ Placing his hands together, Naruto waited for Kurama to give him the go ahead. " **Shadow Clone Jutsu**." With a puff of smoke, Naruto was surrounded by a dozen clones. Nodding, Naruto gestured to the tunnels. "I want six teams of two to check out the caves. Pop if you find something and be sure to stay out of sight." Knowing that the situation was serious, the clones saluted before immediately pairing off and dashing away to follow orders. "That hopefully won't take too much time…" Not having anything else to do, Naruto decided to walk around the cavern, trying to find any clues as to what happened. _'...Why do you think that guy did this?'_

" _ **Tch. Probably because he was bribed to."**_ Kurama scoffed. _**"Greed is a powerful motivator, no matter who you are. Given the incentive, is it really too hard to think that betrayal is a possibility? Such a thing is common in humans."**_

Naruto sighed. That was probably correct, but just wished that wasn't the case here. He had occasionally seen such a thing back in the Elemental Nations, but Naruto never understood why a person would do it.

And to willingly put a young girl into danger for your own greed? That marked you as one of the worst pieces of trash imaginable in Naruto's book.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the increasingly angry thoughts, Naruto instead focused on a glowing crystal sticking out from the ground in front of him. Looking it over, Naruto guessed that it was easily the size of an adult, and was big enough so that he couldn't even wrap his arms halfway around it. Taking a step closer, Naruto released a quiet gasp as he came within reaching distance of the crystal. _'This is…'_

Kurama rumbled from within his mind. _**"That thing has the Lifestream running through it, doesn't it?"**_

The blond nodded. _'Yeah, I couldn't feel it at first because it's so faint, but it's definitely there.'_ Hesitantly, he reached out a hand and placed it on the crystal. To his surprise, this action made the gentle glow of the crystal grow to new levels, and Naruto felt a comforting warmth creep up his arm. Naruto smiled at the feeling as it reminded him of his time in the Lifestream. Deciding to test something, Naruto closed his eyes and focused on the part of the Lifestream coursing through the crystal, mingling with the portion in his own body. His smile grew when the glow became even brighter and he heard the sound of giggling echo in his head.

 **"** _ **Naruto, move!"**_ Alarmed, Naruto did as instructed without question, leaping to the side.

Not even a second later, something crashed down onto the spot he had been standing in. _**"I told you to pay attention to your surroundings!"**_ Kurama snarled, but Naruto knew the bijū was frustrated that he had also momentarily let his guard down. Frowning, Naruto slowly reached for a kunai as he eyed the creature in front of him.

Growling at him was a monster that resembled a large dog, but it was definitely more dangerous than that. The monster was a strange mix of skinny and power, as while the side of its body showed ribs, its front legs were bulging with muscles. The entire body of the monster was pitch black, making it harder to see in the dim lighting, and protruding from its upper back was a strange, orange tail that ended in a point. Both of the monster's empty silver eyes were trained on Naruto. Hearing growling behind him, Naruto glanced over his shoulder, confirming that another monster dog was behind him.

' _What the hell are these things? I haven't seen monsters like these before…'_ Naruto turned his body so that the monsters were on either side of him, not wanting to let one be behind him. He crouched in preparation, knowing that they were about to attack him. Seeing their target show signs of a fight, both monsters snarled and got ready to pounce.

" _ **Oh, like**_ **hell!** _ **"**_ Kurama roared. The next second, the entire cavern was flooded with the killing intent of the strongest bijū. The result was immediate; both monsters stilled completely and their eyes widened in fear. At the same time, they let out a terrified whimper. _**"These**_ **mutts** _ **need to learn who the alpha is!"**_ Kurama raged.

Naruto let an amused smirk spread across his lips, but it soon faded when the monsters visibly shook themselves free of their fear and started to creep towards him again. _'I don't think they care too much…'_

" _ **And that will be their fatal mistake."**_ The anger in Kurama's voice was clear. _**"It seems like even common dogs kept as pets are smarter than these things. Kill them. Now."**_

' _Don't need to tell me twice…'_ Without warning, Naruto dashed towards the dog that had attacked him. Surprised by the rush, the monster was unable to get out of the way in time to avoid the kunai that stabbed into the side of its skull. Not bothering to watch its body fall to the ground, Naruto yanked out the kunai and whirled around, hurling it straight at the second monster. This time, the dog proved to be alert enough to jump out of the way in time, but it didn't manage to do so for the following kunai that pierced right between its eyes.

The blond nodded in satisfaction as the monster hit the ground. "That was easy…" He muttered, retrieving his kunai. Suddenly, Naruto was hit by a rush of memories from one of his clones, soon followed by a couple more. "There are more of them…" Each of the groups had been attacked by monsters, with every monster being the same type as the two he just killed.

 **"** _ **That isn't normal."**_ Kurama said. _**"Maybe a few, but to have this many monsters spread out throughout the cave system? And each group of monsters laying in wait at the end of each path, as if for a small search party? The two you just killed were stupid, painfully so. They wouldn't be able to coordinate something like systematic ambushes."**_

' _Someone else is directing them.'_ Naruto concluded.

 **"** _ **Exactly."**_ Suddenly, the blond was hit with the memories of another clone, but this one wasn't reporting about monsters. _**"And now we know who."**_

Scowling, Naruto spun around and ran into a tunnel on his right. After a few minutes of running, he decreased his speed when he spotted the tunnel ending opening out into another cavern. As he crept closer to the end of the tunnel, Naruto made sure to silence himself completely. Hugging the wall, Naruto slowly poked his head out.

The tunnel he came from granted him an expansive view of the entire cavern, from the crystals spread throughout it to the gathering of people next to the underground lake on the other side. Crouching low, Naruto scanned the area to his immediate left, looking for the spot that his clones had found. A moment later, he found what he was looking for and started to sneak over to it, making sure to stay out of sight by using the natural rock formations in the cave.

Soon, Naruto found himself scaling up a wall of rock. When he neared the top of the small cliff, an identical face to his own popped out over the edge. "Grab on, boss." His clone whispered, reaching a hand out. Grabbing it, Naruto let himself be pulled up by his clone before nodding in thanks, allowing the clone to dispel.

After he assimilated the memories, Naruto turned his eyes back towards the other people in the cavern, only to frown when he couldn't make out Yuffie from where he was. Deciding to get closer, Naruto crept along the ledge, thankful that it spanned the entirety of the room. When he started to pick up the sounds of conversation, Naruto got down onto his stomach and crawled over to the edge.

From his new position, he was nearly directly above the group, but they still hadn't spotted him. Now that he was closer, Naruto took in a feature of their appearance he hadn't noticed from the other side of the cave.

Each of them were wearing Wutai soldier armor.

This new knowledge made Naruto scowl. _'So these guys are traitors, too? They would lure out and kidnap one of their own?'_ That made things even worse than he had initially thought. The group was made up of fifteen men, each of them sporting Wutai gear. There were also a few of those monster dogs resting a little ways away.

"When I get out of this, you guys are _so_ gonna be sorry!" Instantly, Naruto's eyes snapped over to the side. He felt relief flood him when he saw that an unharmed Yuffie was placed on top of a small outcropping off to the side. The six-year-old was clearly infuriated by the ropes that were binding her, but Naruto didn't see any signs of injury on her body.

One of the men snorted. "That's the eighth time you've said that, but you're _still_ tied up, brat." He said dismissively, not bothering to look up from sharpening his sword as he spoke.

"That's 'cause it's true!" Yuffie shouted. "You've picked a fight with the best ninja in Wutai! You should be begging me for forgiveness!" She turned her head away and stuck her nose into the air. "If you ask nicely, then _maybe_ I won't kick your butts too badly."

Naruto didn't know whether to be amused or frustrated that even while held hostage, Yuffie refused to drop her bravado. He could easily hear the slight quiver in her voice, and if the expressions of the men were anything to go by, then so could they.

"Yeah, sure." Said another. He glanced to his comrades. "I'm sick of hearing her talk. Why don't we muzzle her?"

Yuffie scowled at him. "I'd like to see you try! You come any closer and I'll show you _exactly_ how awesome I-"

"Enough!" One of them snapped, making the girl flinch. He marched over to Yuffie and Naruto's heart nearly stopped when he pulled a knife out from its secure spot on his thigh and held it up to her neck.

Seeing this, Naruto made to leap over down there and intervene, but Kurama stopped him. _**"Don't! Stay where you are!"**_

' _He's going to kill her!'_ Naruto snarled, but still remained in place.

Knowing that he had to speak quickly, Kurama immediately refuted that. _**"No he won't. You don't take a hostage, only to kill them off before the negotiating party even arrives, especially not a hostage as important as the daughter of the leader of their nation."**_

' _You don't know that!'_

 **"** _ **Naruto,**_ **think!** _ **You've been trained for situations like this since you were six! You're an idiot, but even**_ **you** _ **know the drill for a hostage situation!"**_

' _I…'_ Clenching a fest, Naruto settled back down on the ground. He knew Kurama was right. Acting rashly now would only get Yuffie seriously hurt. _'...Sorry.'_

 **"** _ **Tch. I just didn't want to deal with your whining if something the little brat."**_ Kurama huffed, prompting a halfhearted smile to appear on Naruto's face.

Yuffie froze in terror at the feeling of cold metal pressing against her, and her eyes nearly doubled in size. Seeing this, the man holding her at knife-point smirked cruelly. "There, that's better." He trailed the tip of the blade along her neck and up the side of her face. "If you don't want to be stabbed like a real _ninja_ , then shut the hell up. Understand?" Lower lip quivering, Yuffie nodded slightly. "Good." To both Naruto and Yuffie's relief, he retracted the knife. His goal accomplished, he turned back to the others. "You see? That wasn't so hard." He was greeted with a couple of amused chuckles.

Behind the man, Yuffie's frame started to tremble, but only Naruto noticed. It was getting harder and harder not to rush down there with each passing moment, but Kurama repeatedly reminding him not to helped him remain in place.

 **"** _ **Focus on something else."**_

' _Like what? What could I possibly focus on that besides what's right in front of me?'_

Naruto felt irritation seep through their link. _**"How about the fact that there is someone else in here? Someone hidden?"**_

The blond blinked at this. _'Wait, seriously? I didn't see anyone when I first got here, and neither did my clones! Are you sure?'_

Kurama growled. _**"Yes, I'm certain. This person is unusually skilled in masking their presence, but it is impossible to mask one's emotions and feelings."**_

Cerulean eyes scanned the vicinity, attempting to spot the other observer. _'So? This person is giving off ill intent? Because if they are, I can't feel it.'_

" _ **No, not exactly. It was brief, but I picked up irritation when that one piece of trash threatened the brat with a knife."**_ Kurama said. _**"They were...irritated that she was put at risk. There, over by the lake. On the other side of the huge stalagmite. They're hiding in the shadows."**_

' _Another enemy?'_

" _ **Probably, but this one doesn't seem to want to make himself known. I don't even know if the men in front of us are aware that they are there."**_

' _...I'll keep an eye out for them, but I won't start anything if they don't. If they felt irritated that Yuffie was threatened, then that at least means that they don't want her to get hurt...Right?'_

" _ **Could be…"**_

After a few more minutes, Naruto found himself growing frustrated as he scanned the area again. _'Where the hell are the reinforcements?'_ He hissed in his mind. Were they really that slow in getting here? Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps from the other side of the cavern drew everyone's attention. Naruto smiled faintly at the sight of Kenshin leading several imperial guards into the cavern. _'Finally.'_ Naruto's eyes widened in shock when he spotted the unmistakable form of Godo Kisaragi next to Kenshin. This was the first time that Naruto had seen the man in person, but he still recognized the leader of Wutai. Standing in his own armor, Godo struck an imposing image, strongly reminding Naruto of some of the older shinobi he had met when they got serious.

" _ **Yes, finally."**_ Kurama huffed. _**"They took too much time in getting here."**_

Once they reached the center of the cavern, Godo raised a hand, signaling for his men to stop. Because of his helmet, Naruto couldn't see the redhead's eyes, but he could tell that his mouth was set into a grim frown. With the arrival of the newcomers, the kidnappers all turned to face them.

After a minute of silence, Godo spoke up. "...Where is she?" His voice was soft, but there was an undeniable edge of steel in it.

The man holding the knife smirked and reached out towards Yuffie. Said girl released a startled yelp when she was unceremoniously grabbed by the back of her vest and held up. "Right here." The apparent leader replied.

"...Daddy…" Yuffie whimpered. Seeing her whole and unharmed, Godo's eyes momentarily softened and he nodded to her. But the next moment, they were back to the furious orbs they had been and locked with the eyes of the man holding her.

"I've come personally, just as your message instructed." Godo announced. "Return my daughter...Now."

' _Message? What message?'_

" _ **They probably got it from the fleshbag that put this stupid idea in the brat's head. Or if he had already fled, then they might have discovered one in the man's home."**_

The leader chuckled and roughly set Yuffie back down. "Oh? You think it's gonna be that easy?" He shook his head. "Sorry, but no dice." Naruto held back a shiver at the raw rage he felt coming from Godo, although Naruto wasn't sure if it was more from his daughter getting kidnapped or from his inability to do anything without risking Yuffie.

"What do you want? Why are you doing this?" Godo demanded.

With a sneer, the man spoke up. "What do we want? Well, that's simple, really." He gestured to his companions. "What we _want_ is a leader who actually gives a shit about his people."

Godo frowned. "What are you saying? Do I not care for my people? Do I not do my best to lead you? Would I not lay my life down in an instant for my nation?"

"I don't know, would you?!" The man shouted. "We have been at war for over six years now, but we are no closer to repelling those Shinra bastards than we were when this entire thing started! In fact, we are close to _losing_!"

"The enemy is strong. To defeat them takes time, so winning within a day is impossible." Godo responded. "But we cannot lose hope. Wutai is strong, just like her people. By fighting amongst ourselves, we do our enemy's job for them. We must stay united."

The leader barked a sardonic laugh. "United? _United_?! As if you have any right to say that! While you sit back and relax in your palace, eating fine food and surrounded by loved ones, our brothers and sisters are being slaughtered! How is that united?!"

Hearing this, Godo's frown deepened. "What would you have me do? Lead every battle myself? I must direct the war, and I can hardly do that if I'm on a battlefield. Do not think I do care for the lives lost. Every drop of blood spilled hurts me as if it were my own."

"Bullshit! You don't care about the people under your rule! You'll sacrifice us all to get what you want!"

'That's _what this is about?'_ Naruto growled internally. _'They did this because they think he doesn't care about his soldiers? Of course he does!'_

"Shinra is slowly getting closer and closer to wiping us all out, and yet you still do nothing!" The man continued. "You'll lead us all to our deaths!"

Naruto felt some frustration coming from Godo. "As I've said, the enemy is not to be taken lightly. It's been a long and difficult war, and I wish for it to end as much as the next." Godo glanced to Yuffie. "But taking my daughter doesn't help anyone. If anything, you are only doing more damage by creating internal conflict." He locked eyes with the man. "If you return her now, then I swear that none of you will be harmed. We can still work this out without the loss of any lives. If you tell me your concerns, then I can work towards fixing them."

The blond blinked. _'He's...He really doesn't want to anyone getting hurt. Even after they kidnapped his daughter, he is still giving them a chance to back down…'_ Naruto knew that Godo wouldn't hesitate to personally cut them all down if they so much as implied that they were going to hurt Yuffie, but he was surprised that Godo was giving them a chance at all.

" _ **He's a fool! They threatened his child and rebelled against their leader! They deserve no mercy!"**_

The leader appeared to think similarly to Kurama, for he scoffed. "It's too late for that. I've already lost people to this war, and more people are being lost as we speak."

"If it's too late for that, then what are you trying to accomplish here? Tell me, why have you kidnapped my daughter? Why are we here?" Godo demanded.

Shaking his head, the man spoke up. "You're leading this country towards ruin, but the situation is still salvageable. As much as I hate to admit it, with their superior weapons, numbers, resources, and technology, it is only a matter of time before Shinra overwhelms us. We can't win this war...Not anymore."

"So what are you saying?" Godo asked angrily. "You want me to surrender? To give into Shinra's demands? Because if that is what you're saying, then you're a fool. We are Wutai, we do _not_ roll over and die when told to." The soldiers behind him gave small nods.

" _ **Admirable, but potentially foolish."**_ Naruto opted to stay silent.

"And that's why you're here." The leader sneered. In contrast to the pride coming from Godo's men, the group of kidnappers appeared to be disgusted. "I know there's no way that you would ever open your eyes to the truth, not when you're so blinded by pride and idiocy. And like a good herd of chocobo, the rest of Wutai will follow your example." He pointed his knife at Godo. "But if we kill off the biggest idiot, then the rest will crumble."

Godo's eyes narrowed. "So that's your goal? To kill me?"

"It is indeed, _Lord_ Godo." The man spat. "It was so nice of you to come here personally." It was then that the soldiers noticed that the monster dogs had been silently moving to surround them. "If you want your daughter back, then you will have to kill us."

"You can't possibly think that you will get out of here alive." Godo retorted. "You do this, and your fates will be sealed."

The man laughed. "All of us came here knowing that. We accept it!" He twirled his knife around. "But at the end of the day, it will be worth it." At this, the other men armed themselves, ready to fight. Responding to this, Godo's soldiers also readied themselves, making sure to remain aware of the monsters as well.

' _This is about to get ugly…'_ Naruto prepared himself to move quickly if he had to.

"Now no more talking!" The man shouted. "This is the end of you, Godo!" With that shout, led the charge against the soldiers, the monsters taking that as the cue to pounce. Within seconds, the entire cavern was filled with the sounds of shouting, metal clashing against metal, and the growling of monsters.

" _ **Now's your chance! The brat is unguarded!"**_

' _I know!'_ Acting on the opportunity, Naruto leapt down from the ledge and landed on the ground. A second later, he was pulling out a kunai and jumping up onto the rock Yuffie was on. His sudden appearance made the scared girl flinch in shock before she registered who it was.

"N-Naruto?!" Yuffie said in disbelief. "What are you doing he-"

"No time!" Naruto hissed, cutting through her binds. Once she was free, he hoisted her to her feet and started pushing her to move. "We need to leave!"

"Wha?" She stuttered, confused. When she finally processed what was happening, her eyes widened. "W-Wait!" She protested, looking towards where her father was fighting. "What about-"

"They'll be fine!" Naruto cut her off. "They're goal is getting you out of here. So help them by leaving-ttebayo!" He ordered. "Staying here will only make it worse for them!"

Hearing this, Yuffie hesitated, but she then nodded and allowed herself to be pulled along. "Okay…" The two of them ran towards the tunnel that led back towards the exit.

Easily moving out of the way of a slash, movement from the corner of his eye caught Kenshin's attention. When he saw what it was, he was so surprised that he was nearly unable to parry the next attack. _'Naruto?! Did he follow us here?!'_ While he didn't like the fact that another child was present, he was thankful that the blond was getting Yuffie out of there.

Unfortunately, the leader of the kidnappers spotted the two of them at the same time. "What?!" He growled. Kicking the guard he was fighting in the stomach, he shouted. "The brat's escaping! Don't let her get away! I want her and that other brat dead!"

"Shit!" Naruto cursed, pulling Yuffie to make her move faster. Risking a glance back, he saw that while most of the kidnappers were still fighting, one of them broke off to chase them, taking a pair of monster dogs with him. While the monsters weren't too much of a problem, Naruto had no idea as to how strong the man was. Not only that, but he also had to make sure that Yuffie didn't get hurt. "Come on!" They ran into the tunnel, the enemies following.

"No!" Kenshin made to pursue, but he was headed off by an enemy. "I don't have time for you!"

As Naruto and Yuffie ran through the tunnel, Naruto was judging how close the pursuers were based on sound. _'They're getting closer!'_

" _ **Then run faster!"**_

' _I can't!'_ Naruto shouted. The cave curved towards the right, and Naruto saw light coming from up ahead. Rethinking his knowledge of the cave's layout, he spoke up. "Yuffie, please tell me you have a few weapons on you!"

"U-Uh, I have a couple of shuriken!" She said. "Oh! And a smoke bomb or two!"

Naruto nodded. "Give me the smoke bomb!" He instructed. Hastily complying, Yuffie reached into her pouch as they ran and pulled out a small spherical object.

"Here!" She tossed it to him.

Catching it, Naruto devised a plan. "The room up ahead is too big for us to get to the other side before they catch up!"

"So what do we do?!"

"We have to fight back!" He said. "When I throw the smoke bomb, hide as quickly as you can behind one of the crystals in the room. They're big enough to block you from view. When we get the chance, we both need to attack at the same time. You take out one monster and I'll take out another. Then we finish the guy together! Keep your distance from the man and attack by using shuriken!"

"Will that work?!" Yuffie asked nervously.

Naruto smirked. "These things aren't that smart and their reaction time is pretty bad! And if we tag team him, we'll beat the man. I guarantee we can finish this in under a minute!" They were coming up on the end of that tunnel.

Yuffie swallowed, but she then gained a determined expression. "Got it! You can count on me!"

"Good!" He turned his attention forward again. "Here we go!" The moment they exited the tunnel, he spun around and threw the smoke bomb at the man. The ball exploded upon impact on his face, earning a sound of surprise as a large amount of smoke covered the area. "Hide!" Using the momentary cover, Naruto and Yuffie split up and sprinted over to different crystals, ducking out of view.

The next second, the two monsters and the kidnapper dashed out of the smoke, coming to a stop when they saw that their targets were gone. Scowling, the man looked around. "Find them." He ordered. Understanding the instructions, the two monsters started sniffing the ground.

' _They can sniff us out?!'_ Naruto shouted in his mind. _'I thought that they just looked like dogs, not that they had the senses of one!'_

" _ **And that was an assumption you shouldn't have made."**_

' _Oh yeah, then why didn't_ you _figure that out?!'_ Naruto crept silently around the crystal, making sure to not press his back against it in fear of the making it glow.

" _ **Tch. I thought that it was so obvious, that it was impossible to miss. But it seems that I had underestimated your stupidity...again."**_

Normally, Naruto would have fired off a curse at the bijū, but he decided that making sure he isn't found was more important. From what he could hear, the monster was slowly making its way to his crystal and would discover him at any moment. Knowing this meant they had to act quickly, Naruto looked over towards Yuffie and saw that she was looking back at him. Giving her a nod, Naruto slowly pulled out a pair of kunai. _'Kurama, where is the human?'_

" _ **From where you're facing now, he is at 7 o'clock and about twenty feet away."**_ Kurama replied.

Mapping it out in his head, Naruto nodded. _'Alright…'_ He locked eyes with Yuffie again. This time, he held up a hand and started ticking down fingers. After the last one, the two of them simultaneously leapt out from behind their crystals and hurled their weapons before Naruto dashed at the shocked human.

The sudden attack did its job of surprising the monsters, allowing the kunai and shuriken to land successfully. Naruto watched as his monster immediately fell to the ground, but Yuffie's shuriken was slightly off target. Instead of piercing its forehead, the shuriken slashed one of its eyes and cut the side of its face, making it howl in a mixture of rage and pain. Cursing, Naruto tossed the kunai he had intended for the man at the monster, putting it down for good.

By then, the man had recovered enough to pull himself from his shock. He laughed at the sight of them. "What's this? The two of you actually want to fight me?" He pointed his sword at them. "Be my guest. Allow me to show you two that you can't just _pretend_ to be strong!" He attacked.

Prepared for this, Naruto ducked under the slash meant for his neck, using his shorter frame to his advantage. Not wasting the chance, Naruto lunged at the man and planted a fist into his stomach. The man grunted at the surprising amount of force behind the blow, but was still able to kick at Naruto. The blond was thrown back a bit, but landed on his feet.

Glaring, Yuffie readied her next attack. "Naruto covered for me with the monster...but I won't miss again!" She declared, launching her shuriken at the preoccupied enemy.

The shuriken embedded into the man's side, making him shout in pain. "You damn brat!" She roared, turning to face the nervously smirking Yuffie. "I'll kill you!"

"Hey, moron!" The man was caught off guard by the voice coming from behind him, but before he could turn around, a kunai stabbed into his leg. Wounded, the man was forced down to his knee.

"Shit!" He hissed out. "Little bastard!" The man shouted. Acting quickly, he pulled something out of his pocket and aimed it at Naruto, making the blond's eyes widen in alarm when he saw what it was.

In the man's hand was a green orb.

' _Crap!'_ Naruto made to move out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough.

" **Aero**!" The concentrated blast of wind fired from point-blank range slammed into Naruto's chest, hurtling him back. He only came to a stop when he slammed into a nearby crystal.

"Naruto!" Yuffie screamed, scared for her friend.

Wincing slightly, Naruto got back to his feet, using the crystal as a momentary support. "I'm fine!" He glared at the man. "It was just some wind!" _'Didn't think that he would have a materia…'_

" _ **And that was your error."**_ Kurama growled.

The man chuckled. "You won't be 'fine' for much longer." He said menacingly. "I'm going to kill you both."

"I'd like to see you try!" Naruto shot back and dashed at the man.

Sneering, he aimed his materia at Naruto again. " **Aero**!" Ready for it this time, Naruto jumped to the side to avoid the spell and continued. Seeing this, the man quickly forced himself back to his feet, although he was leaning heavily on his other leg. Once Naruto was close enough, he slashed his sword down. The blond sidestepped the simple attack and got in close to him. Lashing out, he kicked the man's injured leg, aiming for his obvious weakness. "Guh! Screw you!" The man brought the sword back at Naruto, but it missed when the blond dove to the side.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Yuffie's shout came a second before the girl leapt onto the man's back, startling both him and Naruto.

"What?! Get the hell off me!"

"No!" The man tried to shake her off, but Yuffie refused to let go, instead wrapping her arms around his neck.

Seeing this, Naruto smirked. _'That's one way to make an opening!'_ Using the chance, he lunged at the struggling pair. With the man preoccupied with Yuffie, Naruto was able to kick his leg again, earning a howl of pain as the man was forced down to his knee again. Following up on this, Naruto snatched up the fallen kunai and shouted to Yuffie. "Yuffie, move!"

"Okay!" Not questioning it, Yuffie let the man go and fell onto the ground, immediately moving to gain some distance between her and him. Now that she was out of the way, Naruto had a clear shot to the man's head. Not giving the man any time to recover, Naruto slammed the ring of the kunai into the man's temple, making sure to put in enough strength to knock him out.

Yuffie stared with wide eyes as the enemy crumpled to the cavern floor. "We...We did it?" She asked hesitantly. "Just like that? We won?"

Naruto smirked. "Just like that." He confirmed. "He didn't think that we could beat him, so he let his guard down." Naruto poked him with a foot. "Honestly, that could have been worse." No response. "...Yuffie?" He glanced back up at her, only to see her with her head lowered and her entire body shaking. "Yuffie?" Was the entire event starting to catch up with her?

"We…" Naruto took a step towards her. "We did it!" The abrupt shout startled Naruto to the point that he jumped a bit.

"Wha-?"

Before he could even blink, Yuffie had hugged him. "We totally did it! We beat the bad guy! We're awesome!" She shouted. Yuffie released him from the hug, but she then grabbed his hands and started to hop up and down excitedly.

Now understanding what was happening, Naruto smiled slightly in amusement. "Glad you're happy with this…"

"How could I not be?!" She asked. "We just beat the bad guy up, even though he is way older than us! This was our first mission as partners, and we were awesome!" Yuffie proclaimed.

"We only beat up a grunt and two monsters, not the leader or the rest of them…"

"Same thing!" Releasing his hands, she crossed her arms and nodded. "I knew this partnership would be effective. I'm such a genius."

" _ **Ugh, I'm starting to wonder if we should have left her rescue to the guards."**_

Unlike Kurama, Naruto was grinning at Yuffie's antics. "Good to see that you're back to normal…" He paused as something came to mind. "Actually, hold on." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the item inside it. "Here, _now_ you're back to normal!" He presented her headband to her.

Seeing it, Yuffie let out a gasp and snatched it up. "My headband!"

Naruto nodded. "I found it at the entrance of the cave. It's how I knew for sure that you were here."

Yuffie smiled as she looked it over, inspecting it for damage. "...Thanks...It was a present from my mom, so I was super mad when I realized it was gone." Not seeing any damage, she tied it to her head. "There!" She grinned at him, getting an identical one in return.

"Yuffie!" Hearing the new voice, both of them turned towards the tunnel they came from.

Seeing who had called her name, Yuffie beamed and waved. "Dad!" She called. Naruto took a step back as Godo Kisaragi ran up to his daughter and embraced her in a tight hug. "Ugh, dad!" She whined, but Naruto smiled when he noticed that she had tears in her eyes and was clinging to him just as tightly.

"Thank the gods, you're okay…" Godo breathed. He held her by the shoulders and looked her over. "You're not hurt anywhere?" It was at that point that Kenshin joined the group.

Shaking her head, Yuffie wiped her tears away. "Nope! Naruto and I totally kicked butt! I told you we're the best team ever!"

"You and Naruto did, hm?" For the first time since arriving, Godo's eyes left Yuffie and landed on the boy standing nearby. Not knowing how to react, Naruto smiled shyly.

"Hello, sir…" He fidgeted slightly when Godo continued to stare at him. "Um…"

Suddenly, Naruto was surprised to see Godo smile at him. "Hello. You're Naruto, eh? I've heard a lot about you." He nodded to the blond. "Thank you for helping Yuffie. That was a very brave thing to do." Godo glanced over to where Kenshin was standing. "You were even braver to do so despite the head of the imperial guards ordering you to stay put."

Naruto smiled slightly and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh, right…" He laughed weakly. "Sorry about that…"

Kenshin sighed and took off his helmet. "While I do not like the you put yourself in danger, I am also appreciative that you did so to help Lady Yuffie out of a dangerous situation. You are also unharmed?"

The blond shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Yuffie and I took care of the two monsters first before fighting the guy. Neither of us were ever harmed."

"Naruto was great!" Yuffie interjected. "He came up with a plan while we ran and then got in close to knock out that jerk! I mean, he totally couldn't have done it without me, but it was still pretty cool."

Godo chuckled at his daughter's antics. Now that he had confirmed that both she and Naruto were unharmed, his eyes grew colder and went to the unconscious man on the floor. Gesturing towards him, he spoke up. "Bind him and put him with the rest of the captives." He ordered.

Kenshin nodded. "Yes, sir." Walking over to the man, he glared down at him. "And this makes fifteen…"

Hearing this, Naruto blinked and made a small frown. "Fifteen…?" He repeated. "…There weren't any others?"

The other three people in the cavern gave him quizzical looks. "…No, no others." Godo responded. "We made sure we got them all. Not all of them are alive, but there are fifteen of them." He admitted. "Why?"

Naruto's frown deepened, but he shrugged. "…No reason, I just thought there were more of them."

Godo chuckled again. "Ah, I see. Yes, that can happen sometimes in the heat of the moment. Your mind may play tricks on you and make you perceive things slightly different, but once you calm back down, things become clearer."

"I guess so…" Naruto muttered. _'…Kurama.'_

" _ **It's no good. I can't sense the last one anywhere. They're either gone or don't have any ill intent…I'm betting that they snuck out unnoticed when the chance arose."**_

'… _We didn't notice them earlier until they threatened Yuffie, so it could be either.'_ Naruto mused. _'…But either way, I don't think they will cause any problems now.'_

" _ **Hm, you're probably right…"**_ Kurama rumbled.

The blond's attention was pulled back to the present when Godo spoke. "Now then, why don't we all return?" He proposed with a smile. "Yuffie, your mother has been worried sick about you since we were informed what happened, and I'm sure that us taking so long isn't helping matters." His attention went to Naruto. "And Naruto, I would like for you to come with us as well. I know that my wife would also like to thank you."

Naruto opened his mouth to object, but he was cut off by Yuffie's excited exclamation. "Awesome! This is gonna be the first time you come over to my house, Naruto!" She beamed. Seeing this, Naruto paused and then sighed with a small smile.

"…Okay. I'd be happy to come, Lord Godo."

* * *

Slipping out of the cave, a man glanced around before pulling out his PHS. Dialing the desired number, he waited for the call to connect. The moment it did, he spoke. "It's me."

" _Was the mission a success?"_

"No, it was a failure."

" _What happened?"_

"The fools didn't put enough thought into it. They opted to kidnap the girl and try to kill her father outright. They were confronted and defeated."

" _Can a connection between you and them be made?"_

"No, no one knew I was there. It cannot be traced back to us. And I was sure to plant the idea in their heads indirectly."

" _You're sure?"_

"Yes, sir."

" _Good. Did anything of substantial note happen?"_

He paused, thinking back to the scene he witnessed.

" _Well?"_

"…No, nothing else to report."

" _Then you are to return immediately."_

"Understood." He hung up. Putting his PHS away, he glanced back into the cave. "That boy…" It was only for a bit, but he could have sworn that that crystal had glowed brighter when the boy was knocked into it. _'…Is it possible…?'_ For the Lifestream to react to his presence like that would mean…

He shook his head, clearing it of such thoughts. It was irrelevant either way, so there was no point to dwelling on it.

With that, he turned and began walking away, being careful not to get his suit wet.

* * *

 **Kisaragi Household (Later)**

"I was so worried!" Kasumi gushed, hugging her daughter.

"Mom…" Yuffie whined quietly, but like her father, she didn't resist the embrace.

Once she was satisfied, Kasumi pulled back, showing that she had tears in her eyes. "When the guard came and told us what happened, I thought…" She bit her lip. "And then when Godo had to leave, too…"

"Mom, I'm fine. Dad is too." Yuffie said. "I'm sorry for running off like that…I should have listened to Naruto when he tried telling me not to go…"

At this, Kasumi's eyes went to the last person in the room, who had been standing a little ways away in an attempt to give the family some privacy. "Oh, that's right." Now completely releasing Yuffie, Kasumi turned to Naruto with a smile. "Thank you for helping save my daughter."

Naruto blushed and averted his eyes. "I-It was nothing. I had to do something-Whoa!"

Not giving him any time to react, Kasumi gave Naruto a hug as well, prompting a deeper blush from him. "…No, you didn't have to do anything…But you did, so _thank you_." She said quietly. Unsure what to say, Naruto simply nodded. After a moment, Kasumi let him go and took a step back.

Now that his wife had finished, Godo cleared his throat. "Yuffie, what you did today was foolish and dangerous." Yuffie looked down, but didn't argue. "And while I can forgive you for occasionally slipping out into the village without telling anyone, you should have never left the boundaries of the village unattended. We are at war, Yuffie. Right now, other humans are a bigger threat than monsters, as you saw today. It was extremely fortunate that nothing happened to you. In addition to that, your friend was also in danger because he decided to follow you." Yuffie's eyes were tearing up, but she knew he was right. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"…I'm sorry." Yuffie whispered. Looking back, she was regretting her decision to ignore Naruto's advice more and more.

Godo stared at his daughter for a few more moments before sighing. "…However, today also showed me something else." Yuffie closed her eyes. "It showed me that you are not as safe as I had thought in the village. That there are people within our very borders who are willing to put you in danger…And it's because of that…" The corner of his mouth quirked up. "We are upping your training. I don't want you to be that helpless ever again, and the only way to fix that is to make you stronger."

Yuffie gaped at him. "S…Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. Starting next week, we are reducing your theoretical lessons and increasing your physical training. I also want to start teaching you about materia. Because I don't want the first time you are exposed to an unfamiliar type to be on the battlefield, like today."

Hesitantly, Yuffie began to smile. "A-Awesome…!"

"Lastly…" Naruto blinked when Godo's gaze turned to him. "Naruto, I would like for you to train with Yuffie here as well. I know the two of you have already been training together, but I want for you to do more of it here. That way, the guards can keep an eye on you, and you have better access to anything you may need. From weapons, to materia, to even food. Is that okay?"

Stunned, Naruto nodded. "Um, yeah…That's fine." By that point, Kasumi was openly grinning.

"Yes!" Yuffie cheered. "This is gonna be _awesome_!"

" _But_ …" And just like that, Yuffie froze. "There is still the matter of your punishment, Yuffie." Godo took great pleasure in his daughter's expression.

"W-What's my punishment…?" She began to tremble as Godo's smirk grew.

"Oh, you'll see. Kenshin will be the one issuing it to you, starting tomorrow morning." Yuffie whimpered.

"…This is gonna _suck_ …"

No longer able to contain it, Kasumi burst into a fit of giggles, prompting Naruto to start chuckling.

* * *

 **There we go! All done with Chapter 4!**

 **The monster dogs were Guard Hounds. You know, those super weak enemies that only serve a purpose as adds? Yeah, them.**

 **Short (And unimpressive) fight, but it will get better. If you think that Naruto should have wasted him immediately, then it seems you missed the part when I openly stated that I nerfed him. If it helps, focus on the fact that a seven year old was a match for an adult.**

 **Aero was a spell in Before Crisis, so don't tell me I can't use it in this universe.**

 **Might be a time skip next chapter (As in probably…unless I think of something I want to add)**

* * *

 **Review Responses!**

 **Kairitrion Cerulean: Yeah, the current point in time is before Crisis Core. I'm doing a lot of double checking to make sure I have my events in order though. Ugh, I noticed that a while ago, but I never got around to fixing it. Thanks for reminding me!**

 **Guest(2): What you say makes sense, but using that much game logic means that I have to do** _ **everything**_ **with game logic. That restricts me too much. I will mostly stick to game logic, but I won't think of things in terms of levels and numerical values.**

 **2blu: Glad you like it so far. As for your questions, I think it's safe to say that I will probably have him fight some crew at some point (Whether or not it will be something like a spar or as enemies for some reason remain to be seen). As for your second question, summons are something I have been considering but need to think out a bit more. And thanks for answering my question!**

 **flamelegendvargas: Glad I could convince you to give a shot! As for your question…Possibly? I dunno if I would completely agree with your logic behind sage mode (I think chakra is necessary), but I think I can make it work if I really want to. But that's something future me would decide.**

 **DeadRequiem: WEAPON form, huh? Hm…I'll be honest, not in the immediate future (For obvious reasons), but I suppose it could happen. I haven't put serious thought into that, but it could work…**

 **Cormin12: It hasn't been specifically stated, but yeah, he is whole.**

* * *

 **Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kog6943**


	5. Chapter 5

**And we're back! Welcome to The Final WEAPON: Preliminary Crisis, Chapter 5!**

 **Kinda late with this chapter...My bad.**

* * *

 **Anyways, on with the story!**

 **I don't own Naruto, Final Fantasy VII, or anything else. I'm just a broke college student…**

* * *

Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Normal Thinking: _'Insert witty remark here.'_

Bijū/Deity Talking in Naruto's Head: _**"Insert witty remark here."**_

Bijū/Deity Thinking in Naruto's Head: **'Insert witty remark here.'**

Scene Change: **Insert Place Here**

Jutsu/Technique: **Insert Jutsu Here**

* * *

 **Last Updated: 12/5/16 (Minor Revisions)**

* * *

 **Kisaragi Household (Two Years Later)**

"Come on, dad! _Please_ ~"

Godo maintained a stony visage in the face of his daughter's pleading. "I said no, Yuffie."

Yuffie released a small whine as her shoulders slumped. "But I wanna go!"

"And I understand that. But the answer is still no." Godo responded. I will not allow it."

Sitting off to the side, Naruto and Kasumi watched the exchange silently, not wanting to interrupt. Even Kenshin remained quiet while he stood next to the door. When Yuffie attempted to get permission for her latest idea _again_ , Naruto rolled his eyes. _'She doesn't know when to quit.'_

Kurama scoffed. _**"She never does. I don't blame her father for denying her of this. It's a terrible idea."**_

"Think about it. This is a great idea!" Yuffie said, bringing about a snort from Kurama at the timing.

Quirking an eyebrow, Godo stared at Yuffie. "Oh? How so? By all means, explain to me the merits of such a plan."

Yuffie faltered, her eyes widening. She didn't expect for him to ask her to list why it was a good idea. "U-Um, because…" She hesitated for a moment before suddenly whirling around and pointing a finger at Naruto. "Naruto! Tell him why it's a good idea!"

Naruto twitched minutely upon abruptly becoming the focus of attention. He shook his head and crossed his arms. "Nope, not happening. If you want this to happen, then _you_ can convince him."

"Traitor!"

"Not really."

Sticking her tongue out at him, Yuffie turned back to Godo, only to see him waiting with an expectant expression. "Uh...It's educational!" Yuffie threw out.

"Leaving the village to go on a tour of the country is educational?" Godo asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah! Now you're getting it!" The young girl nodded cheerfully.

A sigh escaped from Naruto. _'That's the best she could come up with?'_

It seemed that Godo's thoughts mirrored Naruto's, because he also released a tired sigh. Raising a hand, he rubbed at his temples. "Yuffie…" He began. "I don't think that you fully understand what you're asking."

Yuffie tilted her head. "Huh? What do you mean? What's not to get?"

Motioning with a hand, Godo gestured for Yuffie to take a seat at the table. Obeying, she quickly took her usual spot next to Naruto. Once she was seated, Godo sat down next to his wife, across from Naruto and Yuffie. Godo opened his mouth to speak, but he paused, trying to find the right words. Eventually, he locked eyes with Yuffie. "What do you know about the war?" He asked seriously, prompting Yuffie to blink in confusion.

"The war?" She repeated with a small frown. "Those stupid Shinra dogs are invading us! They keep trying to take our land!"

Much to her surprise, Godo shook his head. "Those are the bare reasons for why we are currently at conflict with Shinra. My question to you was more along the lines of what you know about the _current status_ of the war." Naruto gained a frown of his own as he understood what Godo was getting at.

"The current...status?" Yuffie mumbled, unsure. "Um...We're fighting?" She offered.

Deciding to help her out, Naruto spoke up. "Yuffie, this war has been going on for years now." He said, bringing all attention to him again. "Everybody is tired of all the fighting, and it is getting harder and harder to keep going. Morale is getting lower and lower, but it's to the point that people are reluctant to keep it up." Naruto shrugged. "Meanwhile, while this is happening in Wutai, Shinra hasn't stopped pushing."

Yuffie glanced between Godo and Naruto. "...What does that mean?"

Godo sighed. "Shinra has succeeded in driving us further and further into a corner. Key locations that were under control a month ago have been lost to Shinra and strongholds have been abandoned when it became impractical to continue supplying them. In short, the village is one of the few places left where it is safe...Shinra is at our doorstep." Seeing Yuffie's alarmed expression, Naruto closed his eyes, reflecting on how much had changed in the last two years.

Ever since the kidnapping situation two years ago, Godo has kept a much closer eye on Yuffie. Not in the sense that he wanted her to constantly be within sight, but he _was_ more strict when it came to how much freedom he gave her. While he was still lenient when it came to her roaming around the village and the immediate area, no longer did he brush off her ditching her guards to go explore the forest.

However, it appeared as if getting kidnapped also showed Yuffie how much danger was out there, based on how she didn't try anything like roaming that far again.

Also, just as Godo had said, he increased the amount of training that Yuffie underwent, with Naruto joining in occasionally. It was actually slightly surprising how much Yuffie managed to improve over the years. No longer did she miss most of her throws, and the results of her physical training showed by her constantly increasing speed and strength.

Godo was a harsh teacher, but the pride he held for his daughter was obvious to anyone who looked. On the occasional days when he was able to open up enough time to train them personally, he never failed to both criticize and praise Yuffie.

It also happened to be on one of those days where Godo's curiosity finally got the better of him, resulting in him asking Naruto for a spar. At first, Naruto had been extremely reluctant to agree, but Yuffie's persistent begging eventually wore him down.

Naruto had lost, but it was the most fun he has had in a spar since arriving in that world. Neither of them had gone all out -Godo due to the fact that he was facing a child and Naruto because he still hadn't revealed his jutsu- and they used nothing but their physical skills. While the blond hadn't tried his hardest, he _did_ manage to do something that completely shocked all the onlookers.

He managed to land a clean hit to Godo's head.

Unfortunately, it was this success that led to Naruto's defeat.

* * *

 **Flashback**

 _"Gah!" Spittle flew from Naruto's mouth as the air in his lungs was forcefully expunged. The next thing Naruto knew, he was flying through the air, only coming to a stop when his back impacted a large boulder. Groaning, Naruto fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees._

 _"Naruto!" Yuffie shouted in shock, not wasting any time to sprint over to him. Reaching him, she made to touch him, but she then pulled her hands back, unsure how to help him. Gaining a scowl, she turned her head around to glare at her father. "What the heck, dad?!"_

 _That seemed to be enough to shake Godo and Kenshin out of their frozen states. Eyes widening, the two men dashed over to Naruto. "Gaia! I am so sorry, Naruto. Are you alright?" Godo asked worriedly._

 _With a cough, Naruto offered them a weak smile. "I...I'm good-ttebayo...Just winded." He attempted to get to his feet._

 _Kenshin didn't seem to buy that, if his expression indicated anything. "You were just hit by a blow strong enough to throw you clear across the training ground, Naruto. You are_ not _'just winded'." He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, stopping him from getting up. "Sit down and let us look at the injury. You most likely have a cracked rib or two, at least."_

 _"Huh? No, seriously! I'm fine!" Naruto protested, but neither of the adults were listening to him. Ignoring his objections, Kenshin grabbed the hem of Naruto's shirt and yanked it up, revealing his abdomen before he started to gently prod at various spots on Naruto's chest. "Hey!" What he discovered served to be enough to stun the captain._

 _"This...This can't be." Kenshin muttered disbelievingly._

 _Hearing the tone in Kenshin's voice, Godo's face became even grimmer. "What did you find, Kenshin?" He would never be able to forgive himself for this. How could he trust himself around others -children, no less- if he lost control of himself merely because of little pain? What if he had harmed Naruto worse than what was obvious?_

 _Blinking, Kenshin looked to Godo. "I...I can't find any sign of injury. No cracked ribs, no broken bones, and not even some internal bleeding...He's perfectly fine." Kenshin could never claim to be a medic, but he_ could _spot an injury on the field. His ability to quickly diagnose the various wounds he and his men sometimes got was something he prided himself in, to the point that he could often do it with nothing more than a glance. Recognizing a fractured bone? Easy. Spotting when one of his subordinates was trying to hide their sprained ankle? Child's play. Determining which ribs were damaged after getting tackled by a monster? That happened at least once a month._

 _He saw the attack Godo accidentally used on Naruto. It was the same one that Kenshin personally witnessed Godo sometimes resort to using on enemies on the rare occasions he was caught off guard. None of the few that were hit by it were able to simply shrug it off; requiring no less than a **Cure** to get up again. There was no mistaking the power behind it._

 _And yet, he_ still _couldn't find anything wrong with Naruto._

 _"What?" Godo asked, unsure if he had heard correctly._

 _Instead of waiting for Kenshin to answer, Naruto squirmed away and tugged his shirt back into place. Managing to stand up this time, Naruto offered a shrug. "Like I said, I'm fine."_

 _"That's not possible…" Godo said, nearly echoing Kenshin's previous claim._

 _Naruto frowned slightly. "It hurt, but you didn't break anything." Both Godo and Kenshin stared at him at this, making Naruto fight the urge to fidget._

 _Thankfully, the tension was broken when an oblivious Yuffie cheered. "Ha! You should've seen it, Naruto. You went_ flying _!" The girl laughed, obviously relieved that her friend wasn't hurt._

 _Chuckling, Naruto sent her an amused look. "Glad you enjoyed it."_

 _After a moment, Godo exhaled a long breath. Regaining his composure, he met Naruto's eyes. "I truly_ am _sorry, Naruto. I should not have ever lost control of myself in such a way."_

 _Surprisingly, Yuffie's grin vanished from her face upon hearing that her father lost control, only to replaced with her previous glare, which she then turned back on the man. "I'll say! The heck was up with that?!"_

 _Sighing, Godo rubbed at his temples. "The stress of things must be getting to me more than I had thought. You surprised me by landing a strike to my head, and then further shocked me with the amount of strength behind it. These two factors together resulted in me automatically reacting to the perceived threat." Truthfully, he suffered from a small flashback, and_ that _was what made him lash out. Shaking his head, Godo continued. "Although that does not excuse what I have done. It is fortunate that you are unharmed."_

 _Clearing his throat, Kenshin took the chance to speak up. "That does raise the question of just_ how _exactly you are perfectly fine."_

 _Not liking the turn the conversation took, Naruto shrugged. "Uh, I don't know what to tell you."_

 _Godo rubbed at his jaw. "Not to mention that punch of yours packed a surprising amount of strength." He said quietly. "Much more than I would expect for someone of your age or size. Not to mention the speed needed to get under my guard like that."_

 **"Careful, Naruto. They're getting dangerously close to the wrong things."**

 _Not having needed Kurama's warning, Naruto plastered a sheepish smile onto his face. "Heh, thanks. I've done a lot of training to get stronger and faster. And I've been able to take more hits than people would think for as long as I can remember."_

 _Unfortunately, something he said seemed to have been the wrong thing, because Godo and Kenshin traded subtle looks filled with apprehension. Before Naruto could ask them about it, Godo stepped forward with a small smile on his face, but the wave of wariness Naruto felt from him gave away his thoughts. "Naruto..." He began. "This may sound odd, but I need you to look into my eyes for a moment, okay?"_

 _Thoroughly confused, Naruto did as instructed. "Sure…"_

 _"Huh? What are you doing, dad?" You asked, but was quickly shushed by Kenshin. Crossing her arms with pout, Yuffie quieted down._

 _"Try not to blink." Godo added as he and Naruto stared at one another._

'You know what he is looking for?'

 **"No clue."**

 _Growing slightly nervous, Naruto made sure to keep his eyes open as Godo carried out whatever he was doing. After a minute, Godo appeared to come to some sort of conclusion, given by the way he smiled with a nod. Completely perplexed by that point, Naruto felt the wariness bleed out of both Godo and Kenshin. Even more confusing, Godo suddenly released a loud laugh and clapped Naruto on the shoulder. "Well, that truly is impressive! Your hard work is paying off!"_

 _"Thanks…"_

 **"** **The hell was that about?"**

 _Kenshin gave Naruto a small of his own. "You've managed to do what few others have done. You actually succeeded in hitting Lord Godo. Granted, he was not attempting to seriously fight you, nor were any weapons or materia involved, but it was not expected for you to do so well."_

 _"Hey, I could so do that too!" Yuffie exclaimed. Not waiting for any response, she ran over to Godo's side and started to punch and kick at the air in front of him, as if she was fighting. "Come on, let's go. You and me, old man!"_

 _Chuckling at his daughter's enthusiasm, Godo ruffled her hair. "Hm, very well. Let us see how well_ you _do, Yuffie."_

 _"Alright!" Yuffie cheered. "Check this out, Naruto! I'm gonna show you how it's done!" She grabbed Godo's hand and began to attempt to pull him to the center of the training ground."_

 _Naruto rolled his eyes, but a smile was present on his face. "Sure, sure. I'm watching."_

 _As the two of them walked off, Godo locked eyes with Kenshin. The meaning was lost on Naruto, but he was sure that some sort of message was passed in that brief time-span. Seeing Kenshin nod, Godo returned the nod before turning to Yuffie. Naruto frowned minutely, but his attention shifted when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking to the captain, Naruto was greeted small smile._

 _"What do you say that we get out of the way?" Kenshin asked. "Given Lady Yuffie's preference for bouncing around, there is a good chance that we may still be too close."_

 _"Sure…" He agreed, following Kenshin to the safe area. As they walked, Naruto's eyes again went to Kenshin upon hearing his voice._

 _"I'm curious, Naruto. I've seen you work with kunai and shuriken in the past, and it is obvious that you are at least somewhat efficient with them. Are those the only weapons you know how to use?" Kenshin inquired lightly._

 _Not seeing the harm in it, Naruto hummed in confirmation. "Pretty much, yeah...I can also use fūma shuriken, but I like kunai more."_

 _"...And you are self taught? Everything? Even the hand to hand combat?"_

 _Naruto withheld a frown, instead opting to shrug. "I've gotten some examples by watching other people practice, so I tried replicating what I've seen. When that didn't work as well as I wanted it to, I scrapped it and completely worked what I wanted to keep into something that I was comfortable with. After a while, a couple of people were willing to point out some stuff to make it better, but the core of it was made by me." Not a lie, but it also wasn't the entire truth._

 _Back in the academy, none of the instructors wanted to teach him, so he resorted to trying to improve on his own. It wasn't until Iruka came along that anyone was willing to personally help him, which was something Naruto was extremely grateful for. But as awesome as Iruka was, the chūnin still had a lot of work of his own to do. Between his duties as an academy instructor, the Hokage's preference to have Iruka work in the missions room, and then the occasional missions, Iruka was insanely busy._

 _Looking back, Naruto felt a swell of affection for his old academy teacher when he realized just_ how much _of his limited free time Iruka dedicated to Naruto, from the tutoring to the meals at Ichiraku._

 _And with that, he also felt a little bad for making Iruka's life more difficult by skipping class so often and playing pranks. No matter what he was doing, Iruka would always immediately go chase down Naruto for pulling some stunt and then spend time lecturing him on why he shouldn't do those kind of things._

 _Once he graduated from the academy, Kakashi took up the role of his main teacher. Even though he wasn't as involved as Iruka had been, the ex-Anbu still attempted to help Naruto improve after getting pestered into it. But those kind of things were more focused on Naruto's other areas, such as chakra application and the ability to work with others._

 _It wasn't until the training trip with Jiraiya that Naruto's obviously underdeveloped fighting style was called into question. The problem was that by that point, Naruto had already gone too long with a "brawler" fighting style and the blond found a way to make it work. Attempting to change it by then would take some time, and then getting him proficient in that new style would take more time. Not to mention that the basic instinct for Naruto would always be to think on the fly and act unpredictably. The toad sage was irritated by this, but he got over it and decided to simply go with it, fixing what holes he could find while providing advice and getting Naruto to at least not be as rash. In the end, it was transformed into a somewhat legitimate style._

 _That was actually where Naruto got a lot of his references on how he helped Yuffie train. He was emulating how Jiraiya taught when the pervert wasn't distracting himself with "research"._

 _Thinking back on his three teachers brought about a wave of nostalgia and homesickness in Naruto, but he tried to keep his face blank. Unfortunately for Naruto, Kenshin caught the flash of emotion._

 _Deciding not to comment on it, Kenshin instead smiled. "Impressive. You should be proud...Although there is one thing that you should consider."_

 _Naruto blinked, pulling himself from his thoughts. "There is?"_

 _Nodding, Kenshin's smile faded. "As you are aware, Wutai is currently at war with Shinra. It should not have happened, but you and Lady Yuffie were unfortunately exposed to combat."_

 _"Yeah…?"_

 _"I have been the head of the imperial guards for a long time now and soldier for even longer. I've fought by Lord Godo's side in battle for many years, to the point that I've lost count of the number of times that he has saved my life. And I, his. Since long before Lady Yuffie was born." Naruto could hear the undercurrent of pride in Kenshin's voice._

 _'He sounds like an old war veteran. Just how old_ is _he?'_

 **"I can't even tell."** _Kurama muttered._ **"He** _ **appears**_ **fairly young, but there is no mistaking the look in his eyes. In comparison to the other humans in this world, he's seen a lot."**

 _Unaware of the commentary going on in Naruto's head, Kenshin continued. "If we have our way, then neither you nor Lady Yuffie will ever have to go through something like that again…" He sighed. "But it is naїve to the extreme to think that you never will. We are at war, and to be frank, it doesn't look good for us. Lady Yuffie has already been targeted once, so there is every chance that it will happen again. And -Leviathan forbid- the next time, it may not end so easily. It could be that allies cannot arrive to help, it could be that the enemy is stronger, or it could be some other possibility. Whatever it may be, the end result could be something far worse than a couple of bruises."_

 _"..." Not wanting to interrupt, Naruto remained silent. By then, they had stopped walking, but Kenshin still wasn't looking at Naruto. A neutral expression had made its way onto his face and his unfocused eyes stared straight ahead, as if he was seeing something that Naruto's couldn't._

 _"...Life is not a fairy tale." Kenshin said quietly. "And no matter how much Lady Yuffie declares it, the 'good guys' do not always win. In fact, I would go as far as to say that there_ aren't _any 'good guys' in war. War is war. No more, no less. If you ask one side, they would say that the enemies are the ones in the wrong. Ask the other, you would hear that the first side is evil. At the end of the day, the victor is the one to make the final decision. They are the one to control the future, and they do it on top of the ashes of the 'bad guys'."_

 **"Good. Out of all the humans you've come across here, I despise this one the least, Naruto. He understands how the world works."**

 _"...Okay..." Naruto said._

 _Kenshin sighed again. "As I've said, Lady Yuffie has yet to learn how hard life can actually be." Suddenly, he turned and locked eyes with Naruto. "But I believe that you_ do _understand. You've done well to hide it, but both Lord Godo and I have seen it." Involuntarily, Naruto stiffened. "Do not worry, we know that you mean no harm." Kenshin allowed a small smile to form. "In fact, we have determined that you truly do care for Lady Yuffie...To the point of putting yourself at risk."_

 _Reluctant to relax just yet, Naruto frowned. "...I do..." He confirmed._

 _"I know that you are not naїve enough to not comprehend just how suspicious your circumstances are. You keep your past a secret, you are always vague when talking about things, and you display extraordinary skills and abilities...But no one can deny how far you are willing to go to for Lady Yuffie." Kenshin replied. "Where others would have become irritated with her exuberance, you remain indulgent. Where others would not have bothered, you decided to help her improve. Where others would have stood aside and allowed for someone else to resolve the situation, you jump in to save her; to fight alongside her. Not a single time have you ever shown any inclination to do any sort of harm to her_ or _the people around her. Lord Godo and I have been waiting for you to reveal any such intent, but you never did. Our fears were unfounded."_

 _"...Where are you going with this?" Naruto asked._

 _"I want you to become my apprentice." Kenshin stated bluntly, making Naruto's eyes widen in surprise. "I want to teach you how to use a my sword style, the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. After seeing your strength, speed, and endurance in your spar, I know that your body will be able to handle the strain of it...With the proper care and training." For several moments, all Naruto could do was blink at the man._

 _Groaning, Kurama rolled his eyes._ **"Speak, you idiot!"**

 _Jumping at the shout, Naruto quickly shook his head. "You can't be serious."_

 _Kenshin smirked. "Oh, I am. After observing you over the last few months, I've determined that if there is anyone suitable for me to teach, then it is you. I recently brought my desire to teach you to Lord Godo and he told me that he wouldn't stop me from doing so."_

 _"B-But I don't know how to use a sword!"_

 _"Hence why I would be teaching you."_

 _By then, Naruto was gaping, unable to process what he hearing. "Why...Why me?"_

 _This question prompted Kenshin to quirk an eyebrow. "Do you mean besides the reasons that I have already listed?" Naruto blushed slightly. "Very well. While I admit that the potential I see in you makes the prospect appealing, that isn't the main reason." He paused. "Back during the kidnapping fiasco, you willingly endangered yourself to save Lady Yuffie. And then when there was no option available to you but to fight, the two of you worked as a team to defeat the enemy." Kenshin glanced over to the side for a moment. Following his line of sight, Naruto saw that Godo had a large smile on his face as he evaded all of Yuffie's attempts to hit him. "...You fought as partners."_

 _The last word made everything click in Naruto's head. "It's because Yuffie and I are partners?"_

 _"Indeed." Kenshin turned back to Naruto, meeting his gaze. "Just as_ I _am Lord Godo's partner. With your actions, you've proven yourself to be worthy of fighting at Lady Yuffie's side._ That _is why I want you to become my apprentice. Lord Godo will pass his knowledge onto Lady Yuffie, and I will do the same to you."_

 _His words stunned Naruto. Kenshin was basically saying that he and Godo trusted Naruto to back Yuffie up whenever she needed him to. Trusting that Naruto would always be there for her._

 _Regardless of whether or not he agreed to become Kenshin's apprentice, that was something Naruto had intended to do._

 **"Think very carefully, Naruto. Think about the reason that you're here."**

 _Suddenly, everything came to a screeching halt._

 _The mission Minerva gave him. His need to find Zirconiade. His status as a WEAPON._

 _He had a job to do. It was one that he couldn't abandon. There_ will _come a point where he will need to complete it._

 _He couldn't agree to tie himself down like that._

 _Feeling a rush of regret, Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head. "...I'm honored that you want to pass your style onto me...But I have to decline. I'm sorry."_

 _Kenshin's smile was replaced with a frown. "...I won't force you to agree, but is there a reason for your refusal?"_

 _Naruto scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say. "...You know that I'm not exactly Wutai."_

 _Frown deepening, Kenshin nodded. "Yes, it is fairly obvious. Do not worry. Your background doesn't matter to anyone, only your intent."_

 _"That's not it…" Sighing, Naruto locked eyes with Kenshin again. "I'm here now...but I'm not going to stay here forever. At some point, I plan on leaving the village."_

 _"...I see." Kenshin muttered. "And I suppose that Lady Yuffie has no idea?"_

 _"No...She doesn't."_

 _Kenshin scrutinized the blond. "...Have you decided when you are leaving?"_

 _With a shrug, Naruto shook his head. "Not really. Not for a couple of years, at least. At the moment, I'm not strong enough to defend myself as much as I would like. Not to mention the risk of travelling during with the war going on."_

 _"...Are you willing to tell me why you are leaving? You've become welcome here. No one will oppose to you officially being becoming one of us."_

 _Naruto's eyes drifted skyward as he thought on the question. "...I'm looking for something." He finally settled on. "It's important that I find it. Last I heard, it was somewhere in Wutai, but I'm not sure where. Based on what I find here, I may or may not then leave Wutai completely."_

 _"...That's a heavy task for a child to bear." Kenshin stated neutrally. "Wutai is a big place. You've already said that the war makes things worse...Can you tell me what you are looking for? And why you are looking for it?"_

 _A small smile formed on Naruto's face. "I was asked to find it by someone who took care of me when I really needed help. They nursed me back to health from something that should have killed me. As thanks, I agreed to help them they needed me to. The thing I'm looking for is really important to them."_

 _"Is that so…" Kenshin didn't miss the way that Naruto skirted around actually naming the item in question, but he didn't press it. "...Be truthful with me. Does your quest pose any threat to the well-being of Wutai or its people?"_

 _Naruto started in surprise. "No! Of course not-ttebayo! If anything, then me finding it will_ help _Wutai!" It was true, after all. Zirconiade getting released and rampaging in Wutai would be a terrible outcome._

 _"And what do you plan on doing once you complete your mission?" Kenshin persisted._

 _"After I…" Naruto faltered. "I...never really thought about it." He confessed. "I've been training with the goal of getting stronger for a while now. I know I need to find the object, but after?" A shrug. "Don't know. I'll probably see what my options are and go from there. I might travel the world."_

 _Kenshin nodded. "I see. In that case, I have a proposal for you." Naruto blinked, not expecting this._

 _"Go on…"_

 _"I told you earlier that there was another thing that you should consider." Kenshin began. "What I was referring to is that you should at least learn how to handle another type of weapon."_

 _The blond tilted his head. "I assume that that would be where me becoming your apprentice comes in."_

 _"That's correct." Kenshin confirmed. "I stand by that sentiment-even more so now that I know you plan on travelling. While kunai and shuriken are useful and you handle yourself well with them, there may come a time that they are simply not enough. A sword would provide you with a well balanced skill set. Even better, you could add in some firearm training too."_

 _Naruto crossed his arms. "Sure, but I told you that I can't become your apprentice because I plan on leaving Wutai in the future."_

 _Unexpectedly, Kenshin allowed a small smirk to form. "Ah, but that's the thing. I never said that a requirement for becoming my apprentice was to stay in Wutai. You merely_ assumed _that to be the case."_

 _The redhead took great pleasure in the way that Naruto's jaw dropped slightly._

 _"...Wait...So you'll still teach me your style? Even though I plan on leaving?"_

 _"I will." Kenshin nodded with a smile, but it was gone the next second. In its place was a hard glare that made Naruto subconsciously straighten a bit. "_ However _, this comes with the condition that you will_ never _betray Wutai or its people. That you will always strive to protect them." The air became heavier as Kenshin's eyes bore into Naruto's. "Do you swear it, Naruto Uzumaki? Do you swear to forever abide by those conditions?" He reached down to the sword attached to his side and taking the sheath with it, he offered it to Naruto. For the first time, Naruto noted that the blade seemed to have a steel sheath. "If you do so swear, then do it on this blade." Swallowing nervously, Naruto hesitantly reached out a hand towards the blade._

 _But when there were only a couple of inches between him and the sword, he suddenly stopped and took back his hand._

 _Seeing this, Kenshin's gaze steeled even further, and his lips tilted down into a frown. Meeting the stare head on, Naruto's eyes gained a defiant light before he opened his mouth._

 _"...No."_

 _With that one statement, the already heavy air thickened to the point that Naruto felt beads of sweat begin to gather on his forehead. Naruto's inability to sense any feelings from Kenshin only made the blond more wary._

 _"...No?" Kenshin repeated. "You do not swear to never do Wutai harm?"_

 _"That's right." Naruto nodded. "I won't swear that I will always put Wutai before anything else. I won't tie myself down like that." Kenshin's grip tightened around the sheathe. The captain opened his mouth to speak. "_ But _..." With that one word, Kenshin froze. He then watched as Naruto grabbed the sheath of the blade. "...But I_ will _swear to always do my best to protect_ Yuffie _. She is my priority, not Wutai." And with that, Naruto closed his mouth and awaited Kenshin's response._

 _For several moments, nothing was said between the two, and because of Kenshin's blank expression, Naruto was unable to get a read on what the man was thinking. Even his senses weren't providing him with any input on what Kenshin thought of his words._

 _And just like that, the oppressing force suddenly disappeared, allowing the air to return to normal. As his mind processed this, Kenshin allowed a smile to spread across his face._

 _"Hm, I_ definitely _want you as my apprentice now." Kenshin murmured. Nodding once, he raised his voice. "Very well. I accept your oath, Naruto Uzumaki. From this day forth, you are my apprentice." He took back the sword, replacing it upon his hip. "You will be unable to use many of the techniques at first due to your smaller size, but I will still teach them to you...I expect you to give it your all, Naruto." Kenshin's smile grew as Naruto grinned at him._

 _"Heh, you got it!"_

* * *

 **Flashback End**

Smiling softly, Naruto's eyes glanced over to the side of the room, where a sword was resting against the wall. The sword was placed in a white sheath, complementing its snowy hilt.

The Wado Ichimonji, or the _Straight Road of the Harmony_.

He had been awed when it was presented to him, unable to believe that such a blade was his.

Kurama agreed with him, stating that such an elegant blade shouldn't be given to such an inelegant person.

Stupid fox.

Kenshin had given him the sword only recently, as a gift for his two years of being the captain's apprentice. It was somewhat comical at first to watch Naruto unsuccessfully attempt to sheathe it at his side like Kenshin did, only to find that his shorter side made it impossible to do so. As a result, Naruto was forced to resort to carrying the sword on his back.

The problem with that was that the base stance of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū had the user's left hand on the sheath most of the time. So until Naruto was taller, he would have to work around it.

It wasn't the worst thing that could have happened, but still somewhat irritating.

Not to mention embarrassing.

After all the training and practice he has done, Naruto could be considered as somewhat proficient with a sword. He wasn't a master, but he knew what he was doing. He still had a habit of going for his kunai before his sword, but he was trying to break it so that he used both evenly.

As Naruto was quick to figure out, Kenshin was an even harsher instructor than Godo was. Even with his natural stamina and physical abilities, the redhead managed to continuously push Naruto to the brink of collapse. Naruto wasn't unfamiliar with pain, but even he didn't expect for Kenshin to throw that much at him. If it wasn't for him being him, Naruto doubted he would have survived the last two years.

His clothes _definitely_ hadn't.

Suppressing the twitch of an eyebrow to the best of his ability, Naruto glanced down at himself. _That_ definitely hadn't been an enjoyable experience. Once Yuffie's mother caught sight of Naruto's ruined outfit, she immediately proceeded to drag him off to get a new one. He had tried to tell her that she didn't need to buy him an outfit, but her pointed question on whether or not he _had_ any others turned him into a stuttering mess.

The result? Nearly an entire day of standing still while some strange ladies prodded and poked at him, taking measurements while enduring the never ending onslaught of questions concerning what colors he preferred...Not that they were actually willing to listen to him.

He was nothing more than a doll that they dressed up for fun.

It was _hell_.

It was _embarrassing._

And he was _sure_ that one of them _pinched his butt!_

Naruto was wearing a high collar dark orange vest that was black on the sides. It had a green pattern that began in a circular design on his chest before lines shot off towards the bottom of the vest. It also had two straps that crossed over his chest. The Uzumaki swirl was on his back in the same green color. On his left arm was a black arm warmer and a dark orange brace. His pants were black and had dark orange straps around his upper thighs. Naruto's choice of shoes were some black boots with silver buckles. Completing the outfit were the pouches that held his kunai and other tools.

As per the norm when he thought back to Kasumi's insistence that she pay for his clothes, Naruto felt a rush of gratitude for the woman. While the outfitting itself wasn't fun, it was clear that it was something that Kasumi really wanted to do. Ever since they had started to spend more time at Yuffie's house, Kasumi tended to dote on him a bit, just as much as she did for Yuffie.

At first, Naruto was extremely uncomfortable with the attention, but ever so slowly, he allowed himself to open up and enjoy it. Kasumi was a genuinely kind woman who had a soft spot for children. And she couldn't resist helping those she cared for.

And much to his shock, Naruto was someone she included in that category.

If he was honest, he wished that someone like her had lived in Konoha. He would have enjoyed having someone like that around when he was young. While there were others who were kind to them, they -like Iruka- were frequently busy.

The old man had his duty as Hokage.

The Ichiraku pair had their stand to run, and Naruto's presence often drove off customers, so he didn't let himself hang around there too much unless he was ordering something.

So, yes. Naruto allowed himself to somewhat enjoy Kasumi's tendency to dote on him and Yuffie...Even when Yuffie herself was slightly embarrassed by it.

"Then fight back!" Yuffie's abrupt shout snapped Naruto's attention back to the present. Taking in his surroundings, he was surprised to see that Yuffie's hands were placed on the table and a hard scowl was set on her face. "You're just going to let them walk all over us?!"

Godo sighed quietly, giving Naruto a brief glimpse of just how _tired_ the man was. "It is not that simple, Yuffie...I wish we could easily get rid of them all, but as it is…" He shook his head. "...There is a very real chance that we will lose this war."

Naruto's eyes softened when he realized how much pressure Godo must be under. The war had been taking its toll on people when he first arrived in Wutai, and things have only gotten worse.

"But-But we're Wutai!" Yuffie shouted. "We don't give up! We can take them!"

"Yes, we're Wutai...But that doesn't mean we are unbeatable." Godo responded. "Shinra has nearly the entire planet backing it. We don't have that kind of support."

Hearing this, Yuffie's body began to tremble slightly. "So what then? We're going to just... _hide_ here? I've never been anywhere but the village and the places around it, so will I spend the rest of my life without going anywhere else? We're going to let ourselves be trapped in our own homes? Is that why you won't let me go? Because you're actually a _coward_?!" Naruto was shocked by what Yuffie was saying, and if their expressions meant anything, so were Kasumi and Kenshin.

Godo's eyes widened before narrowing as Naruto felt a wave of anger come from him. "Yuffie! Watch your tongue!" He barked, making her flinch at his tone.

Realizing what she said, Yuffie gasped and snapped a hand up to cover her mouth, horrified. "I...I didn't mean that." She said quietly. "I-I didn't mean that, dad." Ignoring her, Godo closed his eyes and took a deep breath while crossing his arms, willing himself to calm down.

The room was silent as they all waited for Godo to speak, but the leader of Wutai remained quiet. From his seat, Naruto paid close attention to the strong emotions originating from Godo. Confusingly, as Godo's anger died down, Naruto felt it get replaced by something else.

 _Sorrow_.

 _ **"** **Must be painful to be forced to watch as your home is taken over and trampled upon. Even more so if all your efforts to prevent it from happening fail."**_ Kurama mused.

' _And Yuffie isn't helping anything.'_ Naruto added.

 _ **"Tch. The fake Uzumaki had it right from the beginning."**_ Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the way that Kurama referred to Kenshin. _ **"She doesn't understand how the world works. Life sucks."**_

Clearing his throat, Kenshin took a step forward, shifting the attention of the room to him. "Lord Godo, if I may?" Seeing Godo's stiff nod, Kenshin spoke up. "Perhaps it may be a good idea for Lady Yuffie to be allowed to go?" Naruto blinked in surprise as Yuffie gaped at Kenshin, not having expected him to assist her.

' _Didn't see that coming.'_

Although he was caught off guard by this, Godo was able to quickly recover and frown at Kenshin. "Speak quickly, Kenshin. You had best have a good reason for this."

Kenshin nodded. "Sir...I think that a trip outside the village would be in Lady Yuffie's best interest."

"Yes, but _why_ do you think that?" Kasumi asked irritably, not liking the idea any more than her husband.

"Because she is right. It isn't good for her to be forever trapped within the confines of the village and the immediate area." Kenshin explained with a carefully blank tone. "It used to be considered a rite of passage for a person training to be a ninja to travel around." He locked eyes with Godo. "...In fact, it used to be considered tradition for the heir or heiress to participate. You yourself have done it, so doesn't it make sense for her to do so?" Yuffie gasped at this new information.

"But that was before the war!" Godo growled. "It's too dangerous."

"There has always been danger in the tradition. Monsters and such."

"Monsters! _Not_ humans!"

"I don't see a difference." Kenshin replied, throwing the room into another bout of silence. "...Humans are simply another type of monster."

Godo regarded Kenshin carefully. "...What are you proposing, Kenshin?"

Stepping up to the table, Kenshin pulled out a rolled up parchment of some sort and placed it on the table. Opening it up, he revealed it to be a map of Wutai. "I propose that we allow Lady Yuffie to travel to one of the forts like she desires. We can select one which is out of the way of the battlefront and we can make sure she is safe while she travels. I will even be willing to escort her myself."

"That's…" Kasumi frowned, extremely unhappy with the way that the conversation was turning. Contrasting this, Yuffie was having trouble preventing herself from fidgeting in her excitement, but she remained quiet in order to not say the wrong thing and ruin the chance.

Frowning, Godo's finger tapped against his forearm. "..." Without saying anything, his eyes slid over to Yuffie, then to Naruto -who had a small frown of his own on his face- and then back to the map. "... _If_ I agree to this, then there would be some conditions that you must agree to, Yuffie."

Instantly, Yuffie grinned. "Sure, whatever you say!"

Nodding, Godo spoke. "First...You will do whatever Kenshin orders you to do. You will do it without question and you will do it immediately." He waited for her nod before continuing. "Second. You will _not_ wander off on your own. You will remain within the specified area and not go exploring."

"Uh-huh."

"Third. You will _not_ interfere with anything concerning the war that may be there. Whether it be soldiers, rations, weapons, or materia, _leave them alone._ "

"Got it."

Godo stared at her for a moment. "Lastly…" His eyes went to Naruto, prompting the blond to blink in surprise. "You will stay with Naruto at all times. The two of you make an incredible team, so if something goes wrong, then you will have each other to rely on. Naruto, this means that the previous conditions apply to you as well." Godo paused, thinking over his conditions. "Well? Do we have a deal?"

"Uh-"

"Yes!" Naruto's hesitation was cut off by Yuffie's excitement. "Yeah, no problem! We agree!" Godo nodded.

' _Wait, when did I agree?!'_

 _ **"You resigned yourself for this the moment you decided to not tell the brat to go away...Dumbass."**_

' _Shut up, Kurama!'_

A small smile filtered across Kenshin's face. "Well, now that that's settled, we should decide upon a location for us to visit."

Godo quirked an eyebrow. "You expect me to believe that you went as far as to support this idea and yet you _didn't_ already have a place selected?"

Kenshin's smile grew minutely. "Ah, well I _may_ have somewhere in mind…"

A soft snort of amusement escaped Godo as he waved a hand. "And? Where is it?" Humming, Kenshin pointed a finger to the map, indicating a fort that was reasonably close to the village.

"Here. I propose Fort Tamblin."

* * *

 **There we go! All done with Chapter 5!**

 **Told you there would be a timeskip.**

 **I still suck at descriptions and outfits. Naruto's outfit consists of the Gojgoj Vest from Phantasy Star Universe (The red and black one, except his is dark orange and black with the Uzumaki swirl) along with the AMF ArmyBattleSet from the same game (Same color scheme).**

 **I'll admit, it had crossed my mind to just leave Naruto with kunai and shuriken as weapons, but I'm not gonna do that. I at least want him to have/know how to use a sword. Some of you may have recognized the sword I gave him. I was split between that one and Tensa Zangetsu.**

* * *

 **Review Responses!**

 **Kairitrion Cerulean: Counterparts of Naruto characters? Huh...Honestly, that never appealed to me much. It has actually put me off of a lot of stories. I'm not entirely against it, but I don't normally enjoy it. I've got some ideas for Leviathan, but I'm still debating the pros and cons. The fic won't be based in Wutai forever. The Wutai soldiers actually had a lot of people I would classify as a samurai instead of a ninja, so my version is a mixture.**

 **Murakami no Kitsune: Lies! You don't know who it is! (...But if you do, don't spoil it!)**

 **I love Inyouchu Anime: Big boom stuff comes later.**

 **AresLaw: ...Happy belated birthday! And you're speaking of future stuff. We don't talk about future stuff! :P**

 **ben 10.000: It was Minerva.**

* * *

 **And now I'm off to revive Embers from its hiatus...This should be entertaining.**

 **Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kog6943**


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